The Conquering of Hate
by Lily Shouk
Summary: Chapter Seven now up! Two people realize that they might actually have an interest in each other...Some bad act good and some bad act worse...Harry and Hermione decide that enough is enough and they better go ahead and get detention with Snape!
1. Default Chapter

Chapter One  
  
Lily Shouk's mother peered anxiously around her. She could have sworn that her daughter was right behind her! However, evidence pointed otherwise, because there was no five-year-old-child in tow. Lily kept pointing at the building, but always pointing slightly to the left of the door, almost like she was pointing to an entirely different building. Her mother had relented to visiting the record store her child was so anxious to see, only to find that there was no child behind her. Mary Shouk sighed heavily and leaned against the store's door. Strange things always seemed to be happening to her daughter, little things that just didn't make proper sense. And Lily seemed to have an uncanny attraction to colors, always describing people as "very yellow, or really a lovely pink person" somehow, the description always did fit.   
Lily stared around herself in amazement, little hazel eyes growing wide. She was in a dingy sort of pub that had a haphazard sign that said "The Leaky Cauldron" on it. She wondered vaguely where her mother was, but was too preoccupied at the moment to think much of it. An old, kind looking fellow was serving several men drinks. Everyone around her was wearing very interesting clothing, long dress like things, even the men! And they all wore hats like the witches on Halloween! The old fellow seemed to be an orange sort of person, warm and happy, and sort of glowing. The place itself was sort of orange, except for one corner, which fairly reeked of blue. Sitting in that corner was the bluest man she had ever seen. He looked tired and his blueness was tinted with gray. She felt sorry for him, and hoped his drink would have effect and make him feel a little more orange. She went up and said hello to the bartender, Tom, and told him what a lovely orange place he had. He merely raised an eyebrow, and chuckled. Suddenly she felt a blackness creep upon her as she heard a cold voice yell, "Tom! Two butterbeers!" She swiveled in her chair and felt chills run up her spine. The cold voice said, "Draco! Go see who the little wretch in the corner is!" A snivel of a boy, not much older than herself, attempted to put a sneer on his face and come torment her. She sensed a lot of grayness and confusion in this boy, Draco, and ran away to hide behind the blue man. The cold man laughed a hard, cruel laugh, and said, "Why Snape! Long time, no see! Do you know this wretch well?"  
Snape, the blue man, snarled. "Malfoy, what a pleasure!" his voice dripped with sarcasm. Lily cowered. She could fairly smell the anger in the two men. She was so preoccupied with them that she entirely forgot about Draco until something hard poked her back. She jumped, and heard a snigger behind her. Draco ran away, looking over his shoulder at her. She desperately wanted him to trip. Suddenly a chair fell over, in Draco's path, and the boy fell flat on his face. He stopped sniggering, and went crying to his daddy. The room was uncomfortably silent. Then Malfoy started to walk towards her. She screamed the first thing that came to her mind.   
"Keep the cold, dark man away from me!" Then realizing that this would not be enough to keep him away, she concentrated with all her young mind, and suddenly tables and chairs were zooming around Snape and her, building up a sort of wall. Tom stared in amazement. Lucius Malfoy pulled out a strange stick like thing. Suddenly her five year old mind realized that this stick was a wand! He muttered something under his breath, and all the chairs and tables went zooming back into place. Lily shivered.   
Snape stepped in front of her. He snarled, "Malfoy, leave the poor girl alone."  
Malfoy sneered, saying, "Well, well...Snape defending a muggle. A sight I thought I would never see!" He laughed, a cold, hard, manic laugh, grabbed Draco by the wrist and was gone.  
Snape took Lily outside and waited for her mother to come. Lily said in a childish way that she was thankful to him for saving her from such a dark man. She also told him she hoped his blueness would go away soon. Then Mary found her daughter, and vaguely wondered who the strange man was that Lily had been talking to. Instead of asking, she just swept Lily up into a big bear hug and carried her down the street, glad that her daughter was all right.   
Snape stood watching the girl until he could see her no longer. This was a girl that could be as significant as the beloved Harry Potter, defeater of Voldemort. This girl was a muggle, clearly, who had powers he had seen displayed in very few adults, and never in a child before. This child had psychic powers only beginning to develop, and telekinesis stronger than many wizards. That chair had not fallen on its own free will. The wall of tables and chairs had come quickly when she summoned them, without the effort it would take many others. This child could be the very thing that the League Against Voldemort would need. This child was also exactly what Voldemort was looking for to wipe light from this planet forever.  
  
  
(ten years later)  
  
Mary was more worried about her daughter than ever before. As a single mother, she was feeling very stressed. Her daughter had very strong psychic powers, and no one had ever been able hide their mind from her. The problem was that Lily seemed to be absorbing everyone's negative energy, and had been reduced to a shaking mass of nerves crying quietly in the corner of her bedroom. Mary had called every psychiatrist, every psychic, every doctor, but no one seemed to be able to help. They said that the amount of power Lily said she had was not even possible. They all told her that her daughter was a liar. This she refused to believe. Lily did NOT lie. However, Lily was prone to keeping some rather large secrets from people, which is just what she was doing now.  
Lily had gotten up off of the floor and was now sobbing into her pillow, that awful mind repeating and repeating itself in hers. The man had been a rat. That was the only was to describe him. She had ventured out to go see a movie, a fabulous romance that she had just been dying to see. Otherwise she would not have left the house, knowing how likely she would be to absorb people. She just hadn't expected to be sitting next to a cold blooded murderer at a romance film. The man's name was Peter Pettigrew, and he was, as unlikely as this sounded, a wizard. She couldn't tell any of the doctors or psychiatrists about him, because she knew that they would have locked her up for good. It was that crazy. He had been sitting there, not even paying attention to the film, just thinking about his wonderful new hand, which almost made her scream when she saw it. It was no ordinary hand. It was a hand made out of a flowing silver liquid, that had sort of hardened, and she knew from the man's thoughts that his hand was completely indestructible. This man had aided someone named Voldemort (strange, she knew) in coldly and quickly killing some people named James and Lily Potter. They had been Pettigrew's own friends. Then he had turned and killed a lot of other people, including muggles (where had she heard that word before?), and framing his other friend for it. Pettigrew went free. The Potter's son had somehow managed to destroy Voldemort, even though he was just a tiny baby. Pettigrew had lodged inside himself an unimaginable hate for this boy, Harry. And he was going to do what ever he had to, to make sure that Harry was dead. At that point Lily started to sob uncontrollably again, partly from Pettigrew's mind, and partly because she felt like there was some vital thing that she was forgetting.  
  
  
Snape practically ran to Dumbledore's office. Panting, he stood in front of the old wizard, who looked up bewildered.   
"What is it, Snape?"  
"Dumbledore, sir, I've, I've found her! The last piece of the puzzle! The one who can go either way..."  
"And?"  
"And unfortunately she has already had an encounter with Pettigrew. I met her again on the subway, she was coming back from seeing a muggle movie, and she was crying. I asked her what was wrong, and she said 'nothing, just a rat of a man, that's all'." Snape paused for breath. "And she is the girl I saw 10 years ago in The Leaky Cauldron! And we need to hurry. She is the only way we can be certain that Good will prevail over Evil..."  
"Hmmmph....yes, well, so the scroll says. And this seems to be a chance that we must take....The question is, do we tell the Ministry about her? You do realize that they would never allow a muggle into Hogwarts. She is not capable of wand work. She is no witch."  
"Why don't we discuss it as we fly over to her house? I have a feeling that time is running out...."  
The Dark Mark on Snape's forearm was burning. Darker than ever before...  
  
  
The doorbell rang, making Mary jump. She peeked outside to see a very old, peculiar man, and a younger, slightly bitter man, peering back at her. She wondered who they were. She called to Lily.   
"Lily! Are you expecting any guests??"  
Lily came in shaking and puzzled, but as she drew closer to the door, she felt happier and happier. "Ummm....yeah....well, sort of, I guess..."  
Sighing Mary opened the door. That was the most eloquent response Lily had given in ages! The two men introduced themselves, wondering how to explain to Lily's mum.  
Lily's eyes brightened, and she said, "Well, hullo again!!! You're the man I met on the subway, like, a couple of days ago!"   
Snape smiled, which wasn't something he did very often. Dumbledore got down to business.   
"Ahem. Mrs. Shouk, may I introduce myself as Albus Dumbledore, and this is my colleague, Severus Snape. We have come to speak to you and your daughter here because your daughter has been demonstrating for some time some rather remarkable powers. She has psychic powers beyond the imagination, that only need to be trained and put into proper use. I am the Headmaster for a Wizarding school, Hogwarts, and we would like Lily to come to Hogwarts this next year. Now, I understand that all of this must sound rather crazy to you..."  
Mary's eyes had become as wide as saucers. Lily however, looked only excited.   
"If you don't mind, I need to have a word with my daughter alone....we will only be a moment."  
Mary tugged Lily out of the room.   
"Lily, is what they say true?"  
"Yes, mum, yes!!! What they haven't said is really very interesting though...but they can help me get over my absorbing problem....and they know the rat...."  
"Who is the rat???"  
"My biggest problem at the moment....but, yes mum, they are to be trusted. And I'm needed. They seem to need me as much as I need them...."   
Lily led her mother back in to the kitchen, where Dumbledore and Snape sat, eating the cookies Mary had shakily put down on the table before dragging her daughter out of the room.  
"So. When do I begin?" Lily said, with a grin.  
At such a sudden agreement, Dumbledore nearly choked on his cookie, then regained his composure and said, "As soon as you like. Actually, you are in a bit of danger, from a man, or thing, rather, named Voldemort. So what would be best is if you came with us back to Hogwarts immediately, which is the one place Voldemort can't get to...."  
Lily shuddered....Voldemort....the thing that had been haunting her.....was he after her? Why???  
"Umm...if you don't mind my asking, what exactly am I in danger of? Who is this Voldemort?"   
"He is a very dark wizard, who is intent upon taking over the world. He, too, has realized your powers, and is intent on using them for his own nasty ends. We are here to protect you from him."  
Mary shuddered. She was wondering just how much these two men knew about Lily's past, and about her father....Lily's father had never been an ordinary man...and then he had left. Left her with a baby, and went off into a place that she had thought didn't exist...the Wizarding world. So he hadn't been crazy after all....  
  
  
End of Chapter One  



	2. Chapter Two

  
Chapter Two  
  
  
The past few days had been mind boggling for Lily. She had never seen so many peculiar things before in her life! Moving, talking pictures, centaurs, and a lot of very weird remedies in the hospital wing...  
  
She was staying at Hogwarts for another week, then she was going to go to a place called Diagon Alley, on September 2nd, and get all of her school supplies. Then she would get to go to Kings Cross station in London, where her mom would meet her to say a last, quick goodbye. And then....well, she had no idea what would happen after that! The rush of excitement made her whole body tingle!  
  
She had spent most of her time with the friendly giant Hagrid, trying to convince him to take her into the Forbidden Forest. He would hear none of it. She was so incredibly CURIOUS!! Yesterday she had managed to sneak into the forest, but she had only gotten a few feet when a lovely centaur came up to her, and said vaguely, "Mars burns bright tonight. This is no place for you." And led her back to the edge of the forest, to meet Hagrid's wrath. Hagrid never got a chance to yell at her, though, because the centaur pulled him aside.  
  
"Hagrid, Mars burns bright tonight. And Venus has been nearly extinguished. There may be war on the horizon. Keep the girl safe inside the castle."  
  
Hagrid had turned most pale, from what you could see of his face, (he had a very large, unruly beard which he was most proud of). He said, "Thanks, 'll jus' be tekin' 'er up t' the castle. Then I mus' be getting ready fer Maxime...she sai' she would be comin' back t' Hogwarts t'night..." Hagrid and Maxime had finished peace talks with the giants, which had gone well, a few weeks ago. Then Maxime had had to go back to Beauxbatons. She had missed Hagrid's company, and so she was coming to visit for a week before the school year started.  
  
The centaur said goodbye, mumbling something about the moon, and Hagrid turned back to Lily. "Now, Lily, I mos' certain'y tol' you not t' go wanderin' in th' forest." He tried to look stern, and mad, but he was chuckling...the girl was so curious, just like he had been when he had first seen Hogwarts. And she shared a love of all creatures with him. She was always interested in hearing about Norbert, and Fangs adored her. He was glad she had come to Hogwarts.   
  
He had instructed her to stay inside the castle from now on, so today she had whiddled away the morning by poking around the school. Having had a very filling lunch, she decided to go up to the Divination room. McGonagall had said it would be ok, and so she excitedly ran up all the stairs, along the way discovering a few very bothersome "trick" stairs. This castle was full of surprises! She had never used a crystal ball before, or tea leaves, and she was anxious to try both. Deep into reading the crystal ball, which she was beginning to get the hang of, she realized that she wasn't alone in the room. She sighed a huge sigh of relief when she realized it was just a big, shaggy black dog. He didn't have a name tag, and she wondered if anyone knew he was here. She absently petted him, while she continued with the crystal ball. Suddenly she stopped. There was a human in this room. She couldn't read animals minds, and she was hearing someone's thoughts...she looked around, but then realized that the thoughts were coming from the dog. This dog wasn't thinking about dog biscuits or walks through to park though...it was thinking about much more serious things, like how strong her psychic powers were, and how he hoped she could help them win...while all this was flattering, she knew this...thing...was NOT a dog. She did the first thing that came to mind. She ran, straight to Dumbledore. He looked up surprised when she stumbled into his office, and asked what was wrong.  
  
"I-I was reading the crystal ball, when I noticed this big black dog in there with me...and then I started to hear his thoughts, and I can't hear animals thoughts!! And it's still up there!"  
  
Much to Lily's amazement, Dumbledore started to laugh, and then he said, "Don't worry about Snuffles. He isn't what he appears to be, but he's absolutely nothing to worry about! Now maybe you've had enough crystal reading for today? There's a book that I want you to read, so that you can have a better understanding of Hogwarts, and witches and wizards." He handed her a HUGE book, titled Hogwarts, A History. "Oh, don't look so overwhelmed. I'm not going to have you quizzed on it or anything...I just thought it might help you out some. I highly suggest you read it."  
The tone in Dumbledore's voice made her think that he really did require that she read it, he was just saying otherwise. She chuckled to herself. He was acting just like a teacher...  
  
  
September 2nd!!! Lily was so excited, she had hardly been able to sleep! She jumped out of bed at six o'clock, sharp, and started to pack. She had been instructed to just take everything with her, because she hadn't been sorted into a house yet, so there was no use in her leaving her stuff there. Professor McGonagall was going to take her to Diagon Alley today! Dumbledore had decided that the Ministry of Magic couldn't know about her, because being a muggle, she was technically not allowed at Hogwarts, so she couldn't travel by broom or Floo powder, or any other wizarding way, (he didn't want them to track her). Unfortunately, this meant Professor Mcgonagall had to drive, which she had only done once in her life. Lily was scared. After a rather rocky car ride, and an uneventful subway ride, in which McGonagall kept asking a young man if she could see his cell phone, they arrived at their destination. The Leaky Cauldron.   
  
Lily felt like she had been here before. She noticed that no one else seemed to even see the pub they were about to enter. They entered, and she immediately checked a corner for blueness. She felt silly for doing so and couldn't explain why she had. Then she saw Tom, the orange bartender, who winked at her. He looked so familiar...McGonagall went up to talk to Tom, arranging them each a room for tonight. While she was away someone else entered. Lucius Malfoy, son Draco in tow. Lily attempted to hide, but Lucius insisted on talking to her. The way he talked to her, she would have thought they had met before. He even knew her name.  
  
"Well...Lily! How nice to see you again...You seem to have forgotten my name...but, yes...that is understandable, its been over ten years now...I'm Lucius Malfoy, and this is my son, Draco."  
  
Draco sort of attempted a smile, but it came out like a sneer. She couldn't read his mind! Or Lucius's, for that matter...  
  
"Ah, Professor McGonagall...how nice to see you." Lucius said, in a greasy voice. He steered her off, leaving Lily alone to deal with Draco. He was being surprisingly nice, which sort of scared her. He seemed to remember her, and for some reason he was a little scared of her.   
  
"So...I hear that you will be coming to Hogwarts this year...nasty school, it would be much better if Dumbledore was gone...I'm sure you're hoping you are in Slytherin, all the best people"  
  
Lily cut him off, saying, "But, I thought that Harry Potter was in Gryffyndor? Isn't he one of 'the best people'?"  
  
Draco laughed. "Harry? Ha. He has his fame from when he was young, but he really is nothing special, just a teacher's pet. What Harry stories have you been told?"  
Lily stammered. Draco was making her very uncomfortable. She wasn't sure she believed him, and wished that she could read his mind. She wondered why she couldn't.   
Luckily, she was saved at that moment by a very flustered and angry Professor McGonagall, who literally dragged her away from Draco.  
  
"Stay away from Draco as much as you can. Like father, like son." Minerva McGonagall was enraged. "To think! Lucius keeps saying with confidence that you will be a wonderful Slytherin! Ha! I see so much Gryffyndor in you..." Suddenly she regained her composure and apologized for taking sides on houses, saying that even if Lily was put in Slytherin, she could still be a good person...All this house talk was making Lily nervous. She barely even noticed how McGonagall got them into Diagon Alley.  
  
Diagon Alley was the most amazing place she had ever been! Broom stores, and Wand shops, an Owlery, and the wizarding bank, Gringotts, their first stop. "What are those...those things???" she asked Professor McGonagall, pointing at a Gringotts goblin. McGonagall explained them to her, and she watched them wide eyed. She could hear what they were thinking, and it was so funny, she almost fell over laughing. The one at the counter was talking sweetly to an old lady, but in his head he was making some rather lewd comments about her. After exchanging muggle money at the desk for wizarding money, McGonagall pulled her outside and said, "Well, where to first?"  
  
"I dunno...I don't know all that I'm allowed to buy, since I can't use a wand and all..."  
  
"How about robes first?"  
  
And off to robes they went.  
  
The lady that fitted her robes talked endlessly, and Lily learned more about the wizarding world than she thought that big lump of a book, Hogwarts, A History, could ever teach her. She had three plain black robes fitted for her, which thrilled her, because she loved black. She had a black fingernail polish fetish, and she knew that the robes would look excellent with her black, short, curly hair. She then had to pick what color she wanted her dress robes to be, which was difficult for her, because she couldn't decide between purple and green, her other two favorite colors, which also went well with her hair, because in the sunlight those were the colors that reflected off of her hair. She finally settled for a deep eggplant purple, with long, draping sleeves, and some dark green ribbon accents. After about an hour and a half of fittings, they were done. And just in time, too, because in walked Draco. Luckily he just waved a surprisingly friendly hullo, and kept on walking.  
  
  
That morning Draco had run into a most interesting girl. She was dark and bright, and she could easily be a Slytherin, but just as easily a Gryffindor. He was mulling over that morning in his head as he got fitted for robes. After the girl had been tugged away by an angry and flustered Professor McGonagall, his dad had pulled him aside. He barely ever saw his dad, who was always off at some important meeting. But Draco really looked up to his dad, and if he loved anyone, it was definitely him. His dad told him that he absolutely had to keep an eye on that girl. He told him that if he could sway the girl, he would guarantee his father, and Voldemort, success. He would guarantee himself a life of money and power. Draco wasn't quite sure what his father meant, so his father explained a little more. The reason his coffee had tasted funny that morning was because there had been a potion in it. A potion that would keep anyone from reading his mind. This girl could read minds, but now she wouldn't be able to read Draco's mind. His father said that this girl had incredible psychic powers, and that she was going to Hogwarts to learn how to properly use them. She was no witch, which meant that she was going to be there illegally. But none of the death eaters would turn her in, because if they could get her on their side, then her power would assure victory to the dark side. No one in the League Against Voldemort would turn her in either, because, once again, if she decided to join Dumbledore, the L.A.V. would be assured victory. And so it was important that Draco befriend her, no matter what. He could not let Harry Potter win.  
  
  
Lily was exhausted. She had gone to the owlery and bought herself a nice, black owl with green eyes, definitely the most interesting owl in the entire place. Then they had settled down for some ice cream, and wizard watching. Minerva (as Lily was calling her now) ran into an old friend and they started to chat. And chat. And chat. Finally Lily got up and asked Minerva if she could go off and do a little exploring on her own. Reluctantly Minerva agreed.   
  
Then Lily had gone and explored. She had gone into the wand shop, and been forced to explain that no, she could not buy a wand, to which the old guy just laughed, as if that was the funniest thing he had ever heard. Then she went into Flourish and Blotts, where she scanned the bookshelves in amazement, and then bought all of the required books, along with a small one on crystal gazing and tea leaves, because she had heard that Professor Trelawny was not the best divination teacher, and she really wanted to learn the things her class had to offer, be it through the teacher, or a book. She also bought quills, ink and paper, muttering to herself, because she had never used a quill before and had a feeling that it would not be very easy. Then she followed a mass of boys and girls that looked to be around her age. They all stopped and gazed with wide eyes in a store window. She heard murmurs of "Whoa! I so want that broom!" and "Harry! On that broom you could defeat Slytherin at Quidditch singlehandedly!" and "Ron, I think anyone could!" and some laughter. She had gotten her first glimpse of Harry Potter...and he wasn't that bad looking either! Then she had decided it was time to go back and find Minerva, who was now chatting happily with an entirely different person, but reluctantly said goodbye when she saw how tired Lily was looking.   
  
"How about a nice cup of tea? Or pumpkin juice? Tom will have food ready for us when we get back...its not far now. You will have a room ready if you want to take a little nap before dinner...you really exhausted yourself today, didn't you? I can remember the first day I went to Diagon Alley. I was just as tired by the end of that day. I remember my first day here...I remember how little sleep I had gotten the night before...I remember..." And Professor McGonagall talked on...  
  
  
End of Chapter Two  
  



	3. Chapter Three

Authors Note: Thanks to all reviewers!!! You have no idea how exciting it was to get my first review!!! This is my first story, so please be easy on me...but I definitely appreciate any constructive criticism, and if there is anything you don't understand, email me or send me a review and I will try to explain it better for you. Thanx! Peace! Oh, and also,*all JK Rowling's stuff is hers (Harry Potter, Ron Weasley, Hermione Granger, Draco Malfoy, Hogwarts, Dumbledore, etc...) and Lily, Mary, and Joseph Shouk are mine, along with a few other things...*  
  
  
Chapter Three  
  
Lily's stomach was doing flip-flops. She had just said goodbye to her mum, who had been crying, and now she had to run and go THROUGH the barrier to Platform nine and three quarters. She watched as a bunch of red-headed kids ran towards it, suitcases in tow, and then, suddenly, she realized they weren't there any more!! They just sort of disappeared! The last one, a boy who looked to be her age, she recognized as Ron, who seemed to be a friend of Harry's. Ron kissed his mum goodbye, and ran, and was gone. Lily took a deep breath, grabbed her owl, who she had named Equinox, and her suitcase, and ran towards the barrier. And ran...and then it was in front of her, and then she crashed. She couldn't get through! People were turning and looking at her now, and she knew that if she didn't do something quick things could get embarrassing. So, she used her mind to move the barrier. Just enough so that she could squeeze through, and then moved it back. No sooner than she had replaced it, but in came a puzzled Harry Potter. He was walking towards her! Now her stomach was REALLY doing flops...  
  
"Hey! I'm Harry. Are you new here??" He said this as he took Equinox from her, whom she had almost dropped, much to the bird's annoyance.   
  
"I...erm...I'm Lily..." She said awkwardly. Then she had to quickly catch her owl, because he HAD dropped it.  
  
"Oh! God, sorry! I, just, well...uh, your name...was..." he paused and took a deep breath before recovering nicely, "just a bit of a shock, that's all." Harry decided that he needed to change the subject.   
  
"So. Where're you from? Are you an exchange student?" Stupid question, she had an English accent.  
  
Reading Harry's mind was very interesting, but she felt like such a snoop. "Oh, no...I've lived in London my whole life. I just, um...well, Dumbledore just decided that this year I should come to Hogwarts..." Lily took a deep breath. She sooo wanted to tell Harry why she had been a last minute decision. And apparently he was keen on knowing.  
  
"But that's impossible! The Ministry should've known that you were magical and sent you a letter a few years ago offering you to come to Hogwarts! Why didn't they?" Was he prying too much?  
  
"Well, erm, because I'm, um, not magical. I'm just very psychic..." There. Done. Now for the reaction.   
  
"Whoa! Isn't that like, illegal??? Can you read my mind??? So you can do telekinesis...you DID move the barrier...I thought maybe my eyes had been tricking me...stupid muggle thought!" then he quickly added, "D'you wanna come sit with me and some of my friends on the train?? 'Cause we've gotta find seats quick or we'll have to end up sitting with someone like Malfoy! Have you met him yet?"  
  
"One question at a time! Yeah, I'd love to come sit with you all...yeah, its illegal, yeah I can tap into your mind, yeah I moved the barrier, and yes, I've met Draco...." She laughed, having recited such a long list of answers.  
  
Something hard poked her on the back. Would he ever stop that? She whirled around. Sure enough, Draco, and his posse, which consisted of two large, obviously  
not-too-bright boys she would later learn were named Crabbe and Goyle.   
  
"What was that about me? Potter chatting you up already? Shocked that he would talk to a Slytherin..."  
  
And off he walked. Lily shouted after him, "I'm no Slytherin! It's just a little early to be making guesses, Draco! I haven't been sorted yet!"  
  
For some reason Draco had greatly upset her. And Harry was looking none too pleased himself.   
  
"Come on, he's just a stupid git, don't listen to a word he says. If he ever gets on your nerves too much, just call him a weasel, and that should shut him up!" He chuckled to himself. The one good thing the Moody imposter had done was turn Malfoy into a weasel...something Harry would never forget....the best Malfoy ever looked...  
  
Lily looked at him questioningly, but realized it was some sort of inside joke. Harry had found his friends compartment, and Lily got introduced to Ron, Fred, George and Ginny Weasley, and Hermione Granger, who saved her from a candy that Fred *innocently* offered to her.  
  
When Harry mentioned to them that she was a muggle but was here because of psychic abilities, Hermione practically kissed her, and then grinning said,   
  
"It says, in Hogwarts, A History, that a non-wizard, who demonstrates incredible psychic powers, will help defeat Voldemort!!! Are you, by any chance, an Animagi?"  
  
Lily shook her head, confused. Hermione's look of glee faded a little. "Oh well! I hope you're in Gryffindor!"  
  
Harry looked at her, grinning, and said, "Yeah! You don't seem much like a Slytherin, anyways! No matter what Malfoy says! By the way, how was your first encounter with the ferret?"  
  
Lily grinned and explained that she couldn't remember the first time she had met him, but that last time she had been troubled because Lucius and Draco were the only two people that Lily had ever not been able to tap into. Harry and Hermione frowned at this.   
  
Hermione had decided against saying what the rest of Hogwarts, A History had said about this girl, because it was so troublesome. Now she was practically certain that she was indeed sitting next to the very girl that was needed to "complete the puzzle". Unfortunately, this girl could go either way...as long as she was in Gryffindor, she would be fine...  
  
Suddenly there was a banging on the compartment door and everyone (except, of course, Lily) raised their wands. Luckily, it was just Neville.   
  
"Erm...has anyone seen my toad???"  
  
No one had, but Hermione rounded up a little search party to help Neville. Soon Lily was left with only Harry and Ron, who explained that Neville lost his toad every year on the train, and lost just about everything else imaginable at Hogwarts. He was a very forgetful person, but despite all of that, he really was a nice kid, and, when he needed to be, a brave Gryffindor. Suddenly there was another knock on the door, and they all just assumed that the toad had been found, so Harry got up to open the door, wand at his seat.   
  
Unfortunately, this time it was Malfoy and posse. The posse had grown larger too, but the whole posse looked to be a rather dull and stupid lot. When Lily realized that Harry had opened the door wandless, Lily did all she could to help him, and have a little fun with Draco in the meantime. She lifted him off the ground, and gently put him down ten feet away. She shot his wand to the other end of the train, and closed the compartment door. Harry ran back and got his wand, and he and Ron were prepared to fight when the posse came back, five minutes later. This time it was even larger. Two wizards against ten. Ron and Harry stepped out of the compartment to keep Lily out of this. More Gryffindors came out and joined Harry and Ron. More Slytherins came out to fight the Gryffindors. No one noticed that Malfoy had slipped off somewhere. That somewhere just happened to be into the compartment that Lily was in.   
  
They were having a war of their own. Lily had Draco in the air upside down, but he was winning, because he had a firm grip on his wand, and had it pointed straight at her.   
  
"If you put me right side up and on to the ground, I will withdraw my wand." Draco was laughing as he said this.   
Lily did as he said, but not exactly gently. As he fell, she got hold of his wand. And now it was her turn to laugh. He paled, but then began to smirk. She couldn't use the wand, and he could taunt her with words. Draco had a little plan up his sleeve. And so far, it was going just the way he wanted it to. Except for one thing...he hadn't thought he would like Lily. He hadn't expected her to get to him.   
  
Her hazel eyes were laughing, burning brighter, and with more green than usual. Her cheeks were flushed, and her hair had a strange purple glow to it. Their eyes locked, and everything became strangely quiet. Then she backed away, and handed him his wand, lifting him off the floor once more and getting him out of the compartment. She wouldn't say that she liked Draco. He made her nervous; he bothered her. But she did like mystery, and for the first time in her life, she had a mystery. She had always known what everyone was thinking around her. Now she finally had someone whose mind was a complete secret. And she desperately wanted to get inside that person's head.  
  
Harry came rushing into the compartment. He had seen Draco flying out of it, and got a little worried about Lily. He knew that she had dealt with him fine, but he didn't know if the weasel had said anything else to bother her. Luckily she sensed him coming, and drifted out of her reverie in time. As Harry entered the compartment he was struck by the muggle's strange, magical beauty. Her eyes were greener than usual, with the fiery passion that usually accompanies a fight, and her cheeks were flushed. Her short, curly hair was in disarray, and she had the grin of a warrior on her face. He asked if she was ok, and her only resoponse was to laugh, and say, "What, do you think I would let HIM get to me?" he grinned at this, because that was, of course, exactly what he was worried about (and she knew it). Then he went back out to finish their little duel, which ended quickly, since the Slytherins realized that Malfoy had retreated. Hermione came back triumphantly, with her hands cupped, and in them, a toad. Then she told Neville that it was alright, the Slytherins were gone, and told everyone to hurry and get into their robes, the Express would be reach Hogwarts soon.  
  
In a mad rush everyone shoved in a few more Bertie Botts Every Flavor Beans, ended up mainly with disgusted looks on their faces, and hurried to get all of their things together. Then The Hogwarts Express groaned to a halt, and everyone piled out.   
  
Lily saw Hagrid and grinned. He was shouting, "Firs' years over 'ere, firs' years over 'ere..." She wondered where she should go, when the familiar face of Professor McGonagall whispered to her to go with the first years, since she had to be sorted. Minerva squeezed her hand to say good luck, and was off, rounding up all the other students.   
  
Lily was incredibly nervous, and felt SO out of place. She was well over a head taller than all the scared first years, and it didn't help that they were all looking at her and whispering. She got into a boat with two scared first year girls, who were whispering excitedly together. Hagrid gave her an encouraging smile, at least she thought he did, but she couldn't be sure, behind all the hair on his face...  
  
She was led into what was the entrance hall, and up onto a stage. The Sorting Hat was pulled out. It sang a song, and started to go down the list of students, sometimes having to think for a while before shouting out one house or another. Then it was into the S's. Lily had a knot in her stomach so big she was certain she would wretch any moment. She looked out at the different house tables, and realized that two people were saving her a seat. Harry was, and so was Draco...  
  
"Shouk, Lily!" the hat called. She stepped forward, sat down on the stool, and put the hat on. Luckily, it covered her eyes.   
  
"Hmmm....yes...everyone has been waiting quite a while for you...so you really want to go into Gryffindor? This is a difficult decision for me to make...you could just as easily go into Gryffindor OR Slytherin...and while you desperately seem to want to go into Gryffindor, I'm afraid I just can't put you there...you are needed in...SLYTHERIN!!"  
  
No! This just couldn't be happening to her. She looked at the staff table. Minerva looked like she was crying. Even Dumbledore looked a little sad. Snape and the Slytherins were cheering.   
  
Hermione noticed that Lily looked like she was going to her death. Then Hermione realized that Malfoy had saved her a seat. She was washed over with feelings of pity for the girl, and almost started to cry. She had known that this would happen, it said as much in Hogwarts, A History, but Hermione, for once, had wanted the book to be wrong.   
  
Lily managed a weak smile, and managed to get into her seat before she fell over. Her legs felt like jello. Draco was smiling a smile that seemed to be saying, "I told you so!" Suddenly Lily wasn't very hungry. She just knew she was going to be sick. Snape's smile had subdued, because as much as he loved the Slytherins, he knew that Slytherin would be a challenge to Lily, and could easily sway her to the dark side. He knew all too well, because he had been there, too.   
  
Draco almost felt sorry for Lily, because she looked so miserable. But at the same time, he felt like she should be a little bit happier to be in Slytherin, he just didn't see why anyone would be so dismayed...  
  
"Lily? Are you OK?" Draco asked, shocking her, and everyone around him. All heads turned. Clearly Malfoy was the most popular boy in "their" grade.  
  
"Yeah. I'm, uh, fine. Really!" she managed a weak smile, and everyone else turned back to Dumbledore in time to hear "Dig in!" and then were all to preoccupied with food. Draco remained unconvinced, but shrugged, and turned to talk to Pansy Parkinson, who had been trying to get his attention all evening.  
  
Pansy was a pretty girl, probably not the brightest, but not an idiot either. She had long, cascading blonde hair, big blue eyes, and a complexion so perfect you wondered if magic had been involved. She had a slightly turned up nose, and a good figure, and you could tell that most of the guys in Slytherin would jump at the chance to go out with her. However, Lily knew that Draco was the only one Pansy wanted to date.   
  
Lily picked at her food, and was almost relieved when it was time to go to the common room for bed. She was exhausted, she just didn't know if she could sleep. Dumbledore winked at her as she passed, as if to say everything would be ok...  
  
After getting past a very chatty Bloody Baron she was led up to the girls dorm, and sighed thankfully. It was empty. Everyone else was downstairs partying, and welcoming the first years. There was a tap on the door, and Pansy walked in. She didn't look nearly as nice as Ginny or Hermione, but she did at least look genuinely concerned.  
  
"Lily? Are you ok?? You didn't seem to eat much tonight...I guess you were expecting to be in a different house, huh?" Pansy laughed, but it wasn't mocking. "I, uh, brought you some pumpkin juice and a cookie in case you get hungry later on..." She grinned, put down the juice and cookie, and quietly closed the door.   
  
Maybe Slytherin wouldn't be completely awful...as long as she could balance friendships between Slytherins and Gryffindors...which, prior to herself, seemed to be nonexistent. She ate half of the cookie, and drank some of the pumpkin juice, lay down, and was asleep in a matter of seconds.   
  
  
End of Chapter Three  
  
  
  



	4. Chapter Four

  
  
Chapter Four  
  
  
"Blaaaaaaaaaaagh...uuuhh...wha' time 'st??" Lily asked bleary eyed, as someone opened a curtain and let in a ton of sunlight.   
  
"It's almost time for Potions, our first lesson! You really need to hurry so that we can get something to eat first!" Pansy said, waiting impatiently.   
  
Lily's eyes grew wide. How had she managed to sleep in on the first day of classes? She jumped up, and told Pansy to go on without her, she would be down in a few minutes anyways...  
  
"Well...ok. I just hope you don't get lost!" Pansy said as she ran out the door.   
Lily hoped she wouldn't get lost too. She threw her robes over her head, tamed her wild curls, washed her face, and then realized, dismayed, that her nail polish was chipping. This would never do. She groaned. She would just have to take the polish off, and go nail polish-less the first day...She now only had ten minutes until Potions started!  
  
She ran out of the girls dorm, careening down the stairs, and straight into someone! They both fell over with an angry "Bleeaaaagh!" obviously she wasn't the only person to have slept in. Thanks to her amazing psychic abilities, or, she thought wryly, in this case, lack of, she knew who it was. It was Draco.   
  
"Oh! Uh, sorry!" She muttered, as she hurriedly gathered up her books. Draco was helping her, and happened to pick up her little book on crystals and tea leaves. He handed it back to her with raised eyebrows. She just grinned and shrugged.   
  
"We aren't gonna have time for breakfast...but since we are going to the same place, I might as well just show you how to get there!" Draco said, cheerfully.   
  
As they hurried in to Potions, with one minute to spare, Pansy, along with the rest of Slytherin and Gryffindor, looked at her with raised eyebrows, and as soon as Snape was done talking and being cruel to the Gryffindors, (which really got on Lily's nerves) Pansy hurried up and got to Lily before Draco.   
  
"I wonder what's up with Draco! He is acting sooo weird around you...if I didn't know better I would say that he purposely slept in this morning!"  
  
"But don't you like Draco? Sorry, you have to remember that I can read everyone's minds....teehehe....but, you know, the weird thing is, I can't read Draco's mind! It's really sort of bothering me..."  
  
"It's sooo not fair that you can read my mind and I can't read yours! Grrrr..." Pansy was laughing, but really she was mulling over what Lily had just said. She just KNEW that Draco was up to something...and she was gonna find out what! Pansy decided to just back off from Lily and watch what Draco did....  
  
  
Draco had gotten a letter from his father that morning, outlining what he was supposed to do. He didn't much like the plan, but he did know it would work...basically, he had to seriously befriend Lily, and make sure that she stayed away from the Gryffindors, which could be difficult, but he had an idea of what to do to solve that...then, after he had become her really good friend, he had to suddenly decide that he was mad at her or something, and get all of Slytherin against her, and make sure that Gryffindor turned its back. Then he would come back in and be her friend, after making her feel really lonely, and really in need of a friend, any friend, at any price. He swallowed. He really didn't like this plan...but he was doing it for father...  
  
All of Lily's classes were the same as Slytherin in the morning, but in the afternoon her schedule was different, because she couldn't do Transfiguration, or Defense Against the Dark Arts, and because she was so psychic she got to do a class only offered to select 7th year students, on really advanced Telekinesis, transporting yourself to other places via the mind, freezing time, jumping into the future, and traveling to the past. She was sooo excited. Then she had a regular math/science/English class, because since she was a muggle, she might need to know that stuff later on...Her day started out with Potions, and then Care of Magical Creatures with Hagrid, and then History with Professor Binns, and then lunch...then she went into Professor Trelawny's class, then Mind Transportation, and then her muggle class. Professor Snape had asked if anyone would be willing to show her around to her morning classes, and surprisingly Draco had gotten his hand up right before Pansy...so she was really stuck with Draco. And with Draco around the Gryffindors ignored her. Hermione smiled at her a couple times, but Harry and Ron just sort of pretended that she didn't exist, which really hurt. She didn't even try to read their minds, because, truthfully, she didn't want to know what they were thinking...Hermione just kept thinking, read Hogwarts, A History, sort of chanting it over and over, until Lily got that it was a message to her. Then she grinned at Hermione, who went back to thinking normally.   
  
"Lily! C'mon! We're gonna be late to Care of Magical Creatures! It's way out by Hagrid's hut, and he isn't too friendly to us Slytherins...he tends to favor the Gryffindors, so we don't want to be too late..."   
  
"Ha! Totally unlike Snape, who has been perfectly nice to me, but the way he was treating all the Gryffindors made me absolutely furious!" Lily laughed, then she noticed that she had obviously said something wrong because Draco was strangely quiet.   
  
"So...um, thanks for taking time to show me around and all. I really appreciate it, 'cause if you didn't, I would be sooo lost!" She smiled, hoping that would get the conversation going again. She was uncomfortable in the silence, because she was used to tapping into people's minds in silence, and she couldn't tap into his. She wondered where Pansy had gone...  
  
"Yeah, well, I just figured you would need help finding your way around and all..."  
  
They had reached the hut. Hagrid started to come towards her, beaming, but then faltered upon seeing Draco, and looked confused. So Lily went up to talk to him.   
  
"Hey Hagrid! How was Madame Maxime? I heard she had to leave yesterday to get back to Beauxbatons..."  
  
"Hi Lily! Maxime's doin' good, how 'bout you? Are you okay in Slytherin? Tha' shocked me...I though' you would b' in Gryffindor, fer sure..." He looked genuinely worried. She smiled weakly at him and said that so far everything was ok...  
  
Soon C. of M. C. was over, having worked with Grinkyloops, a small, sweet looking animal that could easily bite your head off, if it decided for any reason whatsoever that it didn't like you. Lily was, naturally, fascinated. Everyone else looked at her like she was crazy. She was the only Slytherin to even go near them. Harry, Ron and Hermione were the only Gryffindors to come and pet them. Lily talked to Hermione some, who didn't seem to mind too much that they were in rival houses. Harry and Ron just sort of snarled. Now that she was in Slytherin they didn't trust her, at all. Then she tried not to sleep through History, and then it was lunchtime. She had to eat with the Slytherins, of course, and ended up sitting in between Draco and Pansy, who kept fighting for her attention. After they had finished Professor Trelawny's class, which ended up being a bore, Pansy pulled Draco aside, because she was gonna find out exactly what he was up to. Lily whispered to her, "Tell me when you know!", grinned, and went to find a 7th year Slytherin to take her to Mind Transportation.   
  
Mind Transportation was really cool! Their teacher was a little airy and kept vanishing, only to reappear in a different part of the room, but the material was awesome! Much to the 7th years dismay, she was still by far the best. Fred and George Weasley were in there, and didn't even hesitate in talking to her, which made her feel good. They did try to get her to eat a candy of theirs, but she kindly refused, knowing that it would do some ghastly thing to her, and reading George's mind to find in horror that it would make her tongue grow to a very loooong length. Aaaah!  
  
She had muggle class, as it was nicknamed, with Dumbledore himself. It was a one on one thing, and she didn't really learn a ton of math, science, or English, but what she did learn was definitely more valuable.   
  
"So...how are you liking Slytherin?"  
  
"Ummm...well, to be truthful, I really wanted to be in Gryffindor. And there's something that's been bothering me, and I think you're the person to ask..."  
  
"Yes?"  
  
"Well, as you know, I can read minds, and I have never met a person whose mind I couldn't read. However, I can't read Lucius or Draco's mind. And while Draco has been what I feel must be surprisingly nice for him, I'm a little troubled by this..."  
  
"Oh my...I wonder what Lucius has up his sleeve? I have no idea how he managed to make their minds immune to you, but I bet it will wear off soon. Watch carefully for a strange drink or potion that Draco gets from anyone, and maybe try and steal it. Although that could just make him quite mad! I think I should warn you, if you haven't been warned already, about Lucius. He is, technically, cleared of being a Death Eater, but Harry saw him last year while fighting Voldemort. I know that Draco is no Death Eater, but I believe Harry about Lucius. And I could see Draco doing just about anything for his father. So stay on the good side of Draco, but don't trust him too much..." Dumbledore was dead serious. But then the twinkle came back into his eye and he started to chuckle.   
  
"Since I will be seeing you every afternoon, just tell me if anything is bothering you. If things get more peculiar than they already are, I will send you a guardian, whom you have met once before. Please come to me if anything, AT ALL, seems strange. Most of the Slytherins are a little on the sly side, but I think you will manage to enjoy yourself in their house anyways. They are almost more famous than the Gryffindors for their wild parties..." He chuckled softly, and then realized that the lesson was over, wished her luck, and dismissed her.   
  
  
"Draco, I swear I will not leave you alone until you tell me what you've got up your sleeve!" Pansy declared passionately.   
  
"Nothing! I dunno what you're talking about! I'm just being nice to the new girl, that's all! I swear!"   
  
"I completely don't believe you! Why can't she read your mind? And why do you jump at every opportunity to be around her? Oooooh....does Draco LIKE her?" Pansy grinned.   
  
"No! Nononono! Now you've got it totally wrong! Lets just say that I'm doing something to help my father and your father....and their, um, boss." He grinned.  
  
"WHAT?!? Voldie? What are you doing???"  
  
"I'm just finding out information. You sharing a room with her and all, well, I might need your help...just a little. And you absolutely CANNOT tell a soul anything!"  
  
"Ummm...Draco, one problem...she can read my mind..."  
  
"Well, don't let her. Plus, you don't know enough to help her. Just enough to ease your curiosity. And if you do anything to hinder my plans, I will personally tell my father, who will tell 'Voldie'."   
  
"Oooooh....is that a threat?" Pansy laughed.   
  
"You could call it that. Now, will you promise to help me if I need it?"  
  
"What sort of help?"  
  
"If I need to ever give her a potion, or look through her stuff, or if I need some helpful words to be said..."  
  
"It will all depend upon the situation. I'm not about to drug her or make her into a zombie, if that's your idea. She doesn't have much stuff, just a ton of black nail polish...she has a fetish for black...she loves the robes. Be careful, though, because I would be shocked if she hasn't totally caught on, and if she doesn't have a plan of her own. Also, she has a Muggle class with Dumbledore every single day..."  
  
"'k. Thanks Pansy! You have no idea how much this means to me..." He grinned, and gave her a kiss on the cheek, just as Lily walked in.   
  
"Oh! Sorry! Am I, um, interrupting something?" She laughed.  
  
"What? Oh, no!" Pansy said. Lily knew that this was a semi-lie. She grinned.   
  
"Sure...."  
  
Pansy got up to go talk to a friend of hers, leaving Lily once again with Draco. She decided to be blunt.   
  
"So, Draco. I was wondering if you could explain something to me. Why can't I read your mind?"   
  
Draco inhaled sharply. Whoa. Smart, and sharp too. "Well...I really wouldn't know..." he paused dramatically, then went on to say, "My guess is that...maybe you really like me, and because of that, you can't read my mind."  
  
Lily pondered this, and then said, "Well, that might make sense if it was a mutual attraction, I've heard of that happening before, but the thing is, I just, well, don't like your father like that AT ALL, and I can't read his mind either..."  
  
Draco decided the common room just wasn't the place to talk about this.   
  
"How 'bout we go somewhere else to talk about this?"  
  
"Where?"  
  
"Well...maybe if no one's in your dorm, or mine, we could go into one of them..."  
  
She looked around, and everyone in her dorm was in the common room. "Ok. C'mon..."  
  
Everyone was naturally curious, but Pansy hushed them up with some lie about them working together on Potions, since Lily had never had it before. Draco was a little nervous about how to get out of this fix. His explanation hadn't worked, and he couldn't let her know that he was lying, not so early on in the game. Lily, on the otherhand, was enjoying herself immensely, because she was getting to see just how smooth Draco could be.   
  
"So, does this mean that you DO like me, I mean, you said 'that might make sense if it was a mutual attraction'?" Draco said, attempting a subject change.   
  
Lily blushed, and became furious at the same time, saying, "Oooh...don't you dare change the subject. No, that does not mean I like you, I was just sort of hurried in my speech, that's all..."  
  
Draco would really have to get this subject change thing going. What the hell. "Oh...bummer, 'cause, well, it was about to be mutual..."  
  
Alarms were going off all over Lily's brain. She was blushing, and didn't know where to look. "Is this your pitiful attempt at a subject change? 'Cause it just isn't happening" she was grinning, and blushing, and her eyes were sparkling, but Draco knew that there was going to be no subject change.   
  
"So, anyways, I think that you really do know something. Maybe not much, obviously your father is running the show, but let me tell you this: I will never work for Voldemort. Never. I have felt what he and his Death Eaters have done. Do you have any idea how painful it is to read a Death Eaters mind???" she was starting to choke up, and she was afraid that she was about to start crying. Remembering Pettigrew's pitiful mind was killing her...she wished that she could just forget it.   
  
"Well...ok, first of all, who has said anything about Voldemort??? And I wouldn't know what it would feel like to read anyone's mind, having never read anyone's mind before...  
  
"Hmmm...I'm just not sure what to believe you on right now...because everything's your word against mine. I don't want to make an enemy out of you, I really do want to be your friend. You just have to understand that I base my friendships on trust, not necessity..."   
  
Whoa. She just kept hitting things right on...if he didn't know better he would swear that she COULD read his mind....  
  
"I totally understand where you're coming from. And I really wanna be your friend too. But all this suspicion is just unfair. What have I done to ask for all of this??"  
  
Oooooh...now the tables had been turned!  
  
"All I have done is be nice, help you around, be a good Slytherin. I don't know why you can't read my mind, I can't explain it, and I don't know what you have against my father, or why you seem convinced he's trying to recruit you to become a Death Eater...."  
  
"ok ok....fair enough! I'm sorry, I guess I shouldn't be accusing you of anything yet, it's unfair on my part....but I just can't help but have my suspicions. And until I get something to tell me I'm wrong I will still have them...*sigh* I'm sorry...." Lily was suddenly feeling very drained, and she was getting the same feeling she always got when she thought of Pettigrew. She felt like there was something she should be remembering...  
  
Draco was looking thoughtfully at Lily. She had suddenly become incredibly tired. She looked very old. She looked like she had been dealing with too much for one person. He almost pitied her...She wasn't the kind to faint, or to get weak, but anyone could slowly see the energy leaving her...  
  
Draco jumped forward and shook her hand. She looked up briefly, and then slouched over. Her face was splattered with tears. For the first time in his life, Draco was seriously worried about someone other than himself. He felt her wrist, trying to find her pulse, and finally found a very weak one. He sighed and did the only sensible thing he had done in a long time. He scooped her up and carried her out of her dorm room, out of the Slytherin house, where everyone was staring shocked after him, and up to Madame Pompfrey.   
  
He didn't get along too well with Madame Pompfrey, but he knew her well (the Gryffindors had done various things to get him up into the hospital wing at least once a month) and called her Poppy, because they were sort of on an I-don't-like-you-but-I'll-call-you-by-your-first-name-anyways basis. Years ago, before Draco's mother had come into the picture, Lucius and Poppy had been an item. She had visited them at their manor briefly a few times, before becoming basically disgusted with the Malfoy family.   
  
Madame Pompfrey was shocked to see Draco this time. He had never actually bothered himself to bring someone else up to the hospital. He looked genuinely concerned over the girl, too. She was rather certain that Lucius would have some plan up his sleeve regarding this girl, she was too good an opportunity to pass up, but she smiled happily, seeing that maybe Draco would really start to think straight, and maybe he would turn out the way Poppy had always hoped Lucius would...  
  
"Draco? What happened?"  
  
"Well, erm, we were talking, and I guess its my fault really...I got her onto a subject that, unbeknownst to me, brought up a lot of painful memories. And then she fainted..."  
  
"Her blood sugar is very low...Can you help me wake her up? Actually, just try to get her to wake up, and keep her awake, while I get the potion together that she needs...remember not to let her drift off again. Has she eaten anything yet today?"  
  
"Well...we both had to skip breakfast, and then I think she ate lunch, maybe not much though...and that's it..."  
  
Poppy tsk-tsked to herself as she waddled out of the room, leaving Draco with Lily. He wasn't quite sure how he was supposed to wake her up...He shook her gently, and she stirred, but it wasn't enough. It suddenly struck him how damned beautiful she was. Anyone else would have seen a pale, sick girl, but Draco just could not get over her beauty! He rubbed one finger up against her cheek, and was slipping into a reverie, when he remembered what he was supposed to be doing. He shook her again, this time with slightly more force, and her eyelids flickered. He shook her a third time, and she slowly opened her eyes, and looked at him, smiling a smile that struck him as very sad...then she started to slip away.   
  
While he shook her, he started to talk. "Lily! Please, just stay awake...please! Lily!" She was fading fast. He grabbed her hand, and sort of shook her arm. Damn it, he was no doctor...  
  
Lily was having a wonderful dream. And some boy kept trying to get her to leave it behind. Now he was shaking her arm...The dream was just so wonderful. She was at home with her mother, and her father was there too. Then she realized that she was remembering things from long ago. They were cradling a tiny baby, and they were both smiling serenely. Suddenly the picture ripped in half, and her daddy was gone. Her mother was screaming and crying, and then the colors came. Red and black and orange and blue, green, yellow, purple...cascading down around her, flowing into her...The last image was one of her father...he was being tortured, but some unknown force. He got pushed to the ground, and Peter Pettigrew came into focus. So much for a wonderful dream...He pointed at her and laughed, like a maniac. He was covered in blood. It was her father's blood...  
  
Lily sat up screaming. She looked around, wondering where the hell she was.   
  
  
  
End of Chapter Four  



	5. Chapter Five!

  
Hi everyone!!! Sorry it took me sooooo long to get this chapter up, I've been experiencing a bit of writer's block, and I've been really busy with school...thanks to all reviewers! I LOVE you guys!!!  
  
'Mentia of Insanity- I hadn't really thought about whether or not everyone knew that Lily was there illegally, and couldn't find a place to fit it in in this chapter, but I will try to explain in the next chapter or so...thanks for all your great questions!!! You're so good at reviewing!!! By the way, how is your story coming???  
  
  
  
Chapter Five  
  
  
September sped by in a blur of lessons, anti-trust, hope, dishonesty, love and confusion. In a big messy ball they entered into October. Quidditch tryouts were posted. Lily absolutely itched to get on a broom and try Quidditch, but she couldn't, because the Ministry could then spot her...  
  
So during Quidditch tryouts, to get her mind off of it, Lily went to the Library. She was busy reading Hogwarts, A History, when in walked Harry. He smiled and came over to her, like they had been friends all along.  
  
"Hey! Why aren't you trying out for Quidditch? *groan* Are you reading Hogwarts, A History???Why?"  
  
"Hey! I can't try out for Quidditch, because the Ministry could spot me on a broom, and I'm illegally here, remember? Hermione told me to read this...but I think she meant some specific part, I just don't know what!"  
  
"Oh...I think that she was a little confused on her books...I know what she wants you to read, but its in Wizarding World, A History....how 'bout I just tell you what it said? There were like three or four pages about you and your family and various other things..."  
  
"About me?! Ok, I guess I don't care if I read it or someone tells it to me...why aren't you at tryouts though??"  
  
"Gryffindor tryouts were yesterday! I'm seeker!"  
  
"Of course!"  
  
"Ok, so I'm telling it to you fairy tale style, because your life appears to really be a fairy tale...only you haven't gotten to the happy ending yet...Once upon a time, there was a normal, muggle family. A mother, Mary, and a father, Joseph, and a little girl, Lily. Lily was just out of her mothers womb, she was about one year old, when their normal muggle life spun out of control, and evil struck. Joseph had been having dreams. At first what he saw in them horrified him. Then he started to become numbed to their evil. One night he had a dream, a dream that struck him deeper, and with more terror, than ever before. Something evil was going to take his little girl. He pleaded with it, and it offered him an alternative. His little girl could stay with her mommy, but only if he came in her place. So he decided he would. He told Mary that he loved her, but that he had to save Lily, from a man named Voldemort. He said that he would go in Lily's place. Mary naturally thought he was insane. She cried and screamed, pleaded and begged, but he would hear none of it. He gave his life for his little girl, and in giving her all his love he gave her something more. He gave her the power to See, to See stronger, and more than anyone before. He laid in his little girls hands the power to defeat the man that had destroyed their family. A friend of Voldemort's, a Death Eater, came to "collect" Joseph. A man named Peter Pettigrew. And as he left he whispered something to Lily. No one knows what he said, though. Joseph had wizarding powers, which, in later years (surprisingly, after his death) were taken away. Along with taking away his wizarding powers, the Ministry of Magic banned anyone in his family from using magic, which, unbeknownst to them, was the best thing they had ever done to aid Voldemort. His mind was emptied and taken over by Voldemort, and he carried out some of the Dark Lord's most evil tasks, including helping to kill my father, James Potter. He was an empty shell. One day, something inside of your father fought back, and without the blink of an eye, the Dark Lord killed Joseph. Then he decided it was time to get you. Lily, you need to be careful..."  
  
Lily was shaking and crying. She was feeling things, remembering things that she had blocked from her young mind, and she now knew why she felt she had to remember something in association with Pettigrew. Her awful dream in the hospital wing all made sense... Harry reached over and hugged her, both of them whispering "I'm sorry". Harry had given up. He was crying too. He was hugging the daughter of his father's murderer's accomplice's accomplice. But he saw that whatever Joseph had become, he was just an empty extension of Voldemort, he wasn't the Joseph that had given his life for his daughter.  
  
  
  
Harry and Lily had sat in the library, shaking and hugging and crying and sharing painful past memories for at least another hour. Then they were suddenly interrupted by a bunch of loud Slytherins. While, two hours ago, they would have quickly stood up and been embarrassed, now it just seemed pointless to pretend. They hadn't been hugging when the Slytherins came in, just crying and talking and blowing their already very red noses. However, because they continued to cry and talk, all the Slytherins stopped and stared. Then Draco and Pansy walked in, and, wanting to see what everyone was standing around for, pushed their way to the front. They both stood shocked, Draco with a lead feeling in his stomach. He had failed his father. Harry Potter had gotten to her...  
  
Pansy was the first to recover, and she went up to both of them and asked what was wrong. Harry was drying his eyes, and Lily was attempting to, but neither were about to speak. Draco stepped forward.  
  
"Potter, what have you done to her?" he asked, even though he knew perfectly well that Harry had done nothing to harm Lily.   
  
"He hasn't done anything to me, Draco. He has only revealed a large portion of my past, which I so cleverly had forgotten. And it has been a most heroic thing for him to do, because, in doing so, he has opened up some of his own emotional wounds. That's all." Lily said, matter-of-factly, before blowing her nose once again.   
  
Pansy took pity and ushered all of the snickering and staring Slytherins out of the library.   
  
"Lily, do you want anything to eat or drink? Are you gonna be alright? Remember that we are having a celebration in the common room tonight, and you are really expected to be there...it doesn't start for another three hours though...and you need to be in dress robes. It's a dance..." Pansy smiled, and dragged Draco away.  
  
After Pansy and Draco left, Lily turned and smiled at Harry, answering all the questions running through his mind.   
  
"They really can be ok. What I've realized is, Slytherins are people too. While a lot of them have a wicked side that they show mainly the Gryffindors, I have yet to see a Slytherin who doesn't have at least a little human compassion. I am, of course, only speaking for those in school now, I know very well that Voldemort has no compassion, but he isn't exactly human..."  
  
"What shocked me was that Draco is even nice to you..."  
  
"I think he has a little plan of some sort up his sleeve, his father being who he is, but I have no real proof of this, and I've talked to him about it already, so for now I'm feeling ok in Slytherin. I would still prefer to be in Gryffindor, but, alas, the Sorting Hat wouldn't answer my requests!"  
  
"What did it say?"  
  
"Just that I had a 50-50 chance of being in Gryffindor OR Slytherin, and while I wanted to be in Gryffindor, Slytherin needed me....*sigh*..."  
  
"Wow! Yeah, it said that I could be a great Slytherin, but listened when I told it which house I wanted to be in...You should probably start getting ready for your celebration tonight. It sounds fancy, and like you need to dress up! So..." Harry smiled.  
  
Lily grinned, and they clumsily got up, hugged each other, and just as Lily was about to leave, Harry called her back. "Lily! Wait! Come back here for a sec!" Lily turned around and came back, focusing on NOT reading his mind.  
  
"Yes?"  
  
Harry leaned forward and gave her a peck on the cheek "for good luck". Lily's heart was thumping, loudly and quickly, and she was speechless. She managed to grin and say thanks (for the good luck, of course).   
  
When she got back into the common room she avoided the stares of all of the Slytherins, and went up to the dorm room, which smelled heavily of several kinds of perfume, and was filled with about five girls, all trying to look amazing, and succeeding. She came in and immediately felt dirty and not at all ready for the "celebration". Luckily, Pansy just needed a little help with her hair and makeup, and then was ready to help Lily.   
  
"So, you have a date for tonight..." Pansy said matter-of-factly to Lily.   
  
"WHAT?!! Who???"  
  
"Draco! He told me to tell you...I'm sooo envious!"  
  
"Ummm...can you just inform people that they are your date??? I didn't know that was done..."  
  
"Dude! What are you complaining about? Draco is only the sweetest and hottest and smartest and richest guy in our grade! While I would kill to dance one dance with him, you're complaining about spending the whole evening with him! How weird!" Pansy laughed, as she painted Lily's nails black.   
  
"Yes, but you have to remember that you like him, and I...I, well, don't. I mean he has been nothing but nice to me, but I'm just...not attracted to him...I'm too suspicious. Otherwise, I would probably totally like him..."  
  
"*sigh*...I just don't get you! There is nothing to be suspicious of...don't worry! Just let yourself have fun tonight...you have clearly had a stressful day, and don't seem to want to talk about it..."  
  
"Actually I do. I found out who my father was. My father helped kill Harry's parents. Except that it wasn't my father. It was his shell. Voldemort had taken him over, and do you know why??? Because my father gave his life to save mine. Voldemort wanted ME. And he still does..."  
  
Pansy was speechless. "Oh, Lily, I'm so sorry...." Lily just sort of shrugged, and mumbled something about having a good time.   
  
Pansy rubbed a bunch of stuff in Lily's hair to make it shiny and un-frizzy, and put a few finishing touches on her makeup.   
  
"Voila! You look magnificent!" And Lily did. She was in her deep purple dress robes, with forest green ribbon draping everywhere, and her eyes were darker than usual, surrounded with dark eye makeup, and alluring. She smiled. Her hair curled in little ringlets like never before...she was stunning...she only wished Harry was there...  
  
  
The Slytherins had had a magnificent feast with tons of butter beer and only the finest foods, and everyone was warm and fuzzy, and a few were slightly tipsy. Lily had had a little more butter beer than she had intended, but, for the most part, her wits were about her. It was almost 8:00, and she was roaring and ready to dance. She wanted to dance alone, but she figured she might as well humour Draco...  
  
"May I have this dance?" He asked cordially, so that she was unable to resist. Pansy eyed her enviously. Lily could understand. Pansy was dancing with Crabbe.  
  
"Why, certainly!" Lily smiled, and gave him her hand.   
  
And so the game began.  
  
Lily suddenly felt a strong urge to confide in Draco. She felt the need to have a real friend, someone she could really trust, and for some reason, she felt like Draco was the friend she was looking for. So as they were dancing, she started to just make a little small talk. Or something like that. "Hey, Draco?" she whispered.  
  
"Yeah?"   
  
"I just, uh, wanted to thank you for taking care of me in the hospital...you really didn't have to stay there all night...but thanks for doing that for me..." she grinned.   
  
"No problem. You really scared me with your screaming. What was that all about?" he swallowed. The plan was definitely in action.   
  
"I had a bad dream..."  
  
A slow song started, and Draco pulled her closer. She was a little shocked, but she had to admit it was kind of nice. He smelled really good...she slowly ended up resting her head on his shoulder, but then abruptly pulled away, when she realized what she had just done. He just sort of smiled at her, in a laughing sort of way. She looked at him quizzically, like, "what now???" he pulled her closer again, his hand sort of rubbing her back.   
  
Lily noticed Pansy looking at her with a sort of bemused expression on her face, but she could tell that Pansy was jealous.   
  
"Hey Draco? I think that at the next slow song you should ask Pansy to dance..."  
  
He looked at her, confused, and said, "Why would I want to do that?"  
  
She sort of blushed, but continued. "Because Pansy would be eternally grateful to get away from Crabbe or Goyle or whoever it is she is dancing with. They keep stepping on her toes, and I think she would appreciate dancing with someone who really knows how to dance!"  
  
"Yes, but then I would lose my wonderful date! Plus, Pansy can have pick of any guy in this room..."  
  
Lily sighed. She felt very tangled up. She realized with a start that she liked both Harry and Draco! And Pansy liked Draco, too... It would make things so much easier if Draco would just like Pansy, Lily thought.   
  
Draco realized that for the next few songs, Lily was sort of out of it. Different expressions kept crossing her face, but then she ended on one expression. He could only describe it as curiosity. She started to make mindless chatter again, and things were going great, until Draco "accidentally" stepped on her foot.  
  
"Ouch!"  
  
Draco apologized a lot, and swept her up, deeming her unable to walk.   
She sort of laughed at this, feeling very adventurous, because the butterbeer was having its full effect. Draco carried her out of the Slytherin house, and carried her around for a long time, finally arriving...in the Slytherin boys' dorm!  
  
"But, Draco...you've been carrying me around forever! We could've just gone up the stairs!"  
  
"Ah, yes...but then everyone would know, wouldn't they???"  
  
She giggled, and he went and got some ice for her foot.   
  
"Want any butterbeer?"   
  
"Wha---, oh, no...I've already had far too much, as you can see..."  
  
He came, and gently slipped her shoe off, kneeling at her feet, looking up at her.   
  
She smiled.   
  
"Huh! I never would've guessed!"  
  
"Hmmm?" Draco looked puzzled.  
  
"Well, I just never would've imagined this scenario, not in a million years! I-I...oh...I don't even remember what I was saying..." She grinned sheepishly.   
  
Draco scooped her up again, and carried her out of the boys' dorm, into a hidden room.   
  
"Hey! Where are we???"  
  
"That's a secret!"  
  
He put her down gently on a little sofa, commonly known as a love seat. He sat down next to her, both of them sighing contentedly.   
  
"A nice end to a hectic day..."  
  
"Yeah...what were you and Potter talking about?"  
  
"Lots of stuff...mainly the parents we never knew..." she sniffled.   
  
He put his arm around her, and suddenly noticed that she had that funny, curious look in her eyes again.   
  
"What?"  
  
"I guess that you are so intriguing because I can't read your mind...do you have any idea how much I want to know what you are thinking??? I can't stand this total silence...how do normal people put up with it?"  
  
"They think!"  
  
"Are you, perchance, suggesting that I don't?"  
  
"Oh no...why would I do that?" Draco's voice was dripping with a laughing sort of sarcasm.   
  
She grinned, and then asked, "What are you thinking right now?"  
  
"Well...I was thinking what a lovely girl you are...what are you thinking?"  
  
"What a charmer you are...honestly, sometimes I think you're too smooth..."  
  
He got a little ruffled at that, but swallowed, and kept his cool. He drew her closer, and drew a blanket around them. It was very warm, and very big, and...an invisibility cloak! Potter thought he was the only one in school who owned one, but he was wrong...  
  
"What sort of blanket is this??" Lily asked, a little confused.  
  
"Its an invisibility cloak! We can see each other, because we are wrapped in it, but no one can see us!"  
  
"Oh, cool..."Lily had gotten quite tired from their escapades (also another butterbeer effect!) and snuggled up next to Draco, feeling quite calm, and safe, and tired... "G'night..." she sighed.  
  
"Good night!" Draco practically sang. Lily was snuggled up to Draco and was asleep in a matter of seconds, but Draco didn't fall asleep for quite awhile. It was a Friday night, so they didn't have to worry about school tomorrow morning. He sighed contentedly. He had seemingly won her affections over Potter, but something inside him was worried.   
  
Lily mumbled something in her sleep that sounded strangely exactly like what was worrying Draco. Apparently they shared the same fear.   
  
"Pettigrew..."   
  
  
  
End of Chapter FIVE!!!  
  
  
  
Well...that's chapter five! Hmmm...why is Draco worried about Peter? Is Draco gonna be a nice guy or really evil??? (bwahahaha) Also, please tell me who you think Lily should end up with. I find Draco the most interesting character to develop, but I can't decide between him and Harry. Also, I'm thinking about pairing up a few other people (Harry, Ron, Hermione, Pansy, maybe Cho....) in later chapters. If you have any ideas on who should be with whom, please tell me. REVIEW!!!!!!!!! (please?) By the way, in case anyone is wondering, my name is not actually Lily Shouk. I wouldn't put myself in as the main character. I just couldn't think of a good pen name!!! I didn't mean to confuse anyone...  
  
*All of J.K. Rowling's stuff is hers. Harry, Ron, Hermione, Draco, Dumbledore, Pettigrew, etc. However, the plot, and the main character (Lily) are mine!!! *  



	6. 

Hey everyone!!! Sorry it took me so long to get this chapter up, but I had a few ideas to sort out...the suspense is building, but for a change I don't think I have a total cliffhanger. Unless you consider pink one...nevermind, you'll get it when you get done reading. Thanks for the reviews! But where did most of my readers go??? I think I only got three reviews of chapter five! (not that I'm complaining or anything...) the only problem with that was that I didn't get a lot of suggestions as far as who should be paired with whom. So I just made the pairs up myself. But none are set in stone, and there isn't a lot of mushiness in this chapter. BUT THERE IS ONE KISS!!! Anyways, please read and review! *Lily*  
  
  
Chapter Six  
  
Pansy paced back and forth in the common room. No one had seen Draco OR Lily. It was nearly 11 o'clock!!! She knew that they both liked to sleep in, but that wasn't any less disconcerting...where the hell were they? She hated this! Normally, if some girl was winning the affections of the person she liked, she would be quite a bitch to them and put them out of the picture. But Lily...well, Lily was her friend, and she was merely a pawn in the game...Pansy could feel nothing but pity. Also, she knew that if she did anything, she would be interfering with the Dark Lord's plans. And she could not do that. So she commenced to pacing back and forth, back and forth. Hell, if nothing else came out of it, at least she would lose a pound or two...  
  
Lily groggily opened her eyes. She had slept soundly, and hadn't had any nightmares that she could remember...that was a first in a while...she smiled to herself. Draco was quietly snoring, and looked quite angelic. She knew, of course, that he wasn't that at all, but...she knew that he was quite experienced in the ways of love, that he could have, and had had, just about any girl in Slytherin. She also knew that his father was a Death Eater. And she was trying to heed all of her warnings, and especially listen to Dumbledore on not trusting him too much. He certainly knew how to get a girls' attention, though. She had gone into the dance grumbling, and well, now...she was quite content. He hadn't made any real passes at her, thank god, but she was almost certain that stepping on her foot was no accident. He seemed like to good of a dancer, and too lithe, to do that. However, his whole little act had been most amusing, and she had to say that she had had a damned good evening. Her head hurt, and her back ached. The headache was a result of too much butterbeer, and the back must have been from sleeping in a sitting up position. Not the most comfortable way to sleep. She slowly and gently untangled herself from Draco, and went to poke around and stretch.   
  
Draco woke up entirely forgetting where he was. Like usual, he didn't make any noise upon getting up, and so he got to watch Lily for a good five minutes before she noticed he was awake. First she sort of poked around, probably trying to figure out where she was, and then she started to do what Draco presumed was yoga. He decided that he liked yoga, in fact, he liked yoga very much. At least, he liked to watch Lily do yoga. She was very pretty, especially when she wasn't being self-conscious. He then decided to make some noise, and pretended to groggily wake up. She immediately stopped her stretching, and smiled serenely.   
  
"So, still suspicious of me?" he grinned.  
  
Lily sort of blushed, and turned away, which Draco took to unfortunately mean yes.   
  
"Oh, c'mon...I'm not that bad, am I?" he pleaded jokingly  
  
"Oh, you are quite sweet, really...and I have to say that I had an incredible time...but I am, unfortunately, a suspecting person...it is absolutely nothing against you..."  
  
He walked over to her and pecked her on the cheek. Lily noticed with a start that it was the same cheek that Harry had kissed her on. He had his arms around her waist, and she was suddenly uncomfortable. So she writhed out of his grip. He looked a little hurt at this, and she grinned in a sort of "I'm sorry" way, then suggested breakfast.   
  
"Sounds good, but we might want to do a bit to tidy ourselves up, first!" as he said this he smoothed down her hair in back. It had been sticking up in a most definite "yes, I slept sitting up" look.   
  
"Oh! Erm...yeah!"  
  
"I applaud your eloquence!" Draco said wryly.   
  
Lily was feeling much more comfortable.   
  
"Sorry! Guess I need my morning tea!"  
  
"Caffinated?"  
  
"Oh, very!"  
  
They were both now looking half way decent, so they went down into the Slytherin common room, where Pansy was so busy pacing back and forth at a manic speed that she didn't even notice them come in, until she heard two muffled laughs.   
  
"Where have you two been? I've been more worried than you can even begin to imagine!"  
  
"We, uh, fell asleep in some room who-knows-where...well, I don't at least...and *somebody* wouldn't tell me!!!"  
  
"Yeah...what she said..."  
  
"Well aren't we eloquent this morning?" Pansy directed this at Draco. "May I have a little talk with you?"  
  
"Yeah, sure...Lily, you can go on down to breakfast...we'll be down in a minute..."  
  
Lily eyed them suspiciously, saying, "Actually, I think I will go get a shower and get new robes on...so if I come down in say, 15 minutes, will you two be done chatting?"  
  
"Yeah!" Pansy ushered her off.  
  
"What the hell do you think you're doing? Do you have to hurt her more than is required or something???"  
  
"What are you talking about? I think you have the wrong idea..."  
  
"Well, then, you might want to set things straight..."  
  
"Look, Pansy, we didn't even kiss if you are thinking...ahem...she was tipsy, and I wasn't about to take advantage of her or anything...who do you think I am?"  
  
"Well, Draco...hmmm...I guess I just couldn't help remembering your little escapade with that 4th year...and then also your involvement with that Hufflepuff girl...oh, and WHAT ABOUT MY SISTER??? Jesus, don't even try to play innocent with me..."  
  
"Calm down, Pansy! Jeez...someone has anger management problems, doesn't she?"  
  
"Listen. I know that you have certain things that you have to do, for Voldemort and your dearest father...but you don't have to go beyond that. I'm glad that by your account, you haven't. The thing is, she is my friend. And I'm not about to let her get unnecessarily hurt..."  
  
"Yet you won't interfere with Voldemort? You do realize that anything that happens will not matter AT ALL once he gets his hands on her. Pansy, she will be as good as dead. Because, you see, she is not about to go willingly..."  
  
Pansy fell sighing into an armchair by the fire. She just didn't know what to do...Draco came and stood behind her, feeling as uncertain as she...  
  
"Pansy? Can I ask you something?"  
  
"Sure. What?"  
  
"What does it feel like when you really love someone?"  
  
This question blew Pansy's mind. You see, as skewed as this is, the Draco that Pansy liked just plain didn't think about actual love. He was, well, not a sensitive person.   
  
"Why do you ask?"  
  
"I just, uh...wonder..."  
  
"Well, you are going to have to tell me more..."  
  
"OK. I think that I may actually like Lily. You see, if I didn't, I would've tried to go much farther with her than I did. Because I wouldn't care how she felt in the end. Unfortunately, I do care...and the closer I become with her, the less I want to carry out my fathers' wishes..."  
  
"Draco!!! That sounds like love!!!" Pansy was beaming. Draco was frowning.  
  
"Great. Just what I need..."  
  
Pansy laughed at this. She was now firmly convinced that Draco actually did love Lily, and while she was a little envious, she wished them well, and found that her crush on Draco was fading fast.   
  
Just then Lily came running down the stairs.   
  
"Damn it! I wanted to hear what you two were talking about!!!"  
  
Pansy and Draco laughed, and the three of them went down to lunch, having missed breakfast.   
  
At the Slytherin table, a lot of the guys gave Draco a knowing look, which was, unfortunately, wrong. Lily began to get mad. With satisfaction, she saw a few of the guys get confused, when, first of all, Draco was still talking to her, and second of all, when one guy asked him if he got any, he uncharacteristically said, "not really", and went back to talking with Lily.   
  
  
***   
  
Weeks sped by, full of merriment and friendship. Lily had become quite good friends with Pansy and Draco, and Crabbe and Goyle had finally stopped pestering them She had also figured out a fun way to stay in touch with the Gryffindors. She wrote a couple letters every night, and had them delivered to the Gryffindors via owl. They did the same for her. She got the most mail out of anyone in Hogwarts, aside from Dumbledore, and, strangely, Snape. Witch Weekly had named him as one of the hottest wizards of the year, along with both Lucius and Draco. Draco didn't get a lot of mail, just a lot of glances and smiles from girls. Snape, however, had to send bags full of unopened letters to the trash at the end of each week. Surprisingly, all the attention just seemed to make him even more sour than usual. Draco's head was getting awfully big, but Pansy kept doing a fantastic job of shrinking it down to size. She was completely over Draco, and had a wicked sense of humor, and had discovered that it was really fun to infuriate Draco with snide remarks.   
  
Draco had said something rude about Hermione, and Lily had abruptly slapped him. Pansy had almost choked on her tea, and then retorted with something along the lines of "at least she isn't an albino pointy nosed ferret" while Ron, Harry and Hermione were walking by. Ron was so shocked at hearing this out of Pansy's mouth, that before he could remind himself who she really was, he had hugged her and patted her on the back, then did a little high pitched scream and ran as fast as he could down the hall. Pansy had turned bright red, either from choking or embarrassment, and doubled over laughing. Draco fell out of his seat, and Lily, Harry, and Hermione ran after Ron. Lily made the mistake of leaving her letters on the table, next to Draco. When she returned to collect her stuff, he was loudly reading to the entire guffawing Slytherin table a love letter to her from Neville. Lily grabbed it, smacked him over the head for the second time that day, and went to apologize to a beet red Neville who was sitting in shock at the Gryffindor table.   
  
Most days were like this, but nights were another story. Lily's nights had become constantly interrupted with blood-curdling nightmares of Pettigrew and Voldemort. Some were from the past, and some were in the present. She never saw the future. And she really wasn't sure if they were just little imaginary things, or if she was dreaming things that had actually happened. She had a feeling she wasn't the only one having dreams, either, because both Harry and Draco were looking increasingly worn out. Draco had black half moons under his eyes, and Harry almost never stopped rubbing his throbbing scar. She described her dreams to Dumbledore every afternoon in Muggle Studies, and he was troubled and flabbergasted by them. One day early in December he brought up the topic of Christmas vacation. She really, really wanted to go visit her mother, but Dumbledore was convinced it was just too dangerous. However, he relented to looking into spells to put on her house to make it safe for her to visit. She loved Hogwarts, but she missed her mum terribly, and because neither of them could use magic, she couldn't talk to her mum through the fire, so they were only able to owl each other.   
  
Draco had been getting surprisingly romantic lately, or at least romantic for Draco. However, he was so tired from constant nightmares that half the time he fell asleep in the middle of whatever little speech he was giving. Then she would have to carry him up to his dorm, and tuck him into bed. She had learned that none of the Slytherins were staying at Hogwarts over Christmas, which was unusual. What was even more unusual was the fact that most of them were all going to the same place. They were all going to a ski resort. She had small suspicions that maybe they weren't going there to ski.   
  
It was the end of a long and tiring day, and Lily was only now getting a chance to sit alone and read the letters she had gotten that morning from the Gryffindors. She opened Harry's first.   
  
Dear Lily,  
  
Guess what?! Cho Chang (she's the Ravenclaw seeker) is staying here for Christmas! She is, well, really beautiful. Not that you would care or anything. I'm just excited, that's all. Apparently Neville has developed quite a crush on you, much to Hermione's relief. Neville has liked Hermione since I think second year. Anyways, don't be too hard on him, because he is a nice person, just a little slow, and, well, Neville. So I hear Malfoy's been getting pretty full of himself, what with this whole Witch Weekly thing. I caught Hermione looking at it! I have never seen her read anything besides textbooks and other boring things, so seeing her with a magazine was just, well, WEIRD. Anyways, I think that's all I have to say...plus, it's getting pretty late, and I still have to do Divination homework. Do you think she'll notice if I don't make a bunch of death predictions? I'm just getting kinda sick of them. How many did she make for me yesterday? Three? Or was it four? I guess I will get away with making stuff up more if I do predict my death, though...the only problem is, I'm running out of ways to die...  
  
Love,  
  
Harry  
  
  
Harry usually wrote the longest letters out of everyone, except sometimes Ginny. Next she opened Ginny's.  
  
Dear Lily,  
  
How are you? I'm reallllly frustrated! Cho Chang is staying for Christmas! I guess that just about wrecks any chance I have with Harry. He is head over heels for that girl. I'm not really sure what he sees in her (except maybe the fact that she's drop dead gorgeous). You know what's weird? Malfoy was nice to me today. I thought maybe you were lying about him being capable of niceness, but well, he was nice. It really scared me. He sort of fell asleep in the hall (is something terribly wrong with him? Harry has been falling asleep a lot also. And (no offence) you haven't been looking too great yourself) and I was behind him. He eventually tripped and fell down, and I sort of fell on top of him. I tell you, we both got a nasty shock! Anyways, he actually accepted that it was his fault, and helped me pick up my stuff. I told him to go see Madame Pompfrey, but I don't think he listened. Do you two have something going on? Because, if not, Neville really likes you. I'm not sure which is worse: Neville or Malfoy...  
  
Lots of Love (and get some sleep),  
  
Ginny  
  
  
  
Dearest Lily,   
  
I know that this may come as somewhat of a shock to you, but I'm madly in love with you. Ever since I saw you on the Hogwarts Express, and how you fought off Malfoy, I've, well, been in love with you. I know you probably like Harry, or maybe even Malfoy, but I just couldn't hide my feelings any longer. I hope this doesn't wreck my chances of friendship with you. Anyways, have a nice day.  
All my Love,   
  
Neville  
  
  
At this last letter, Lily fell back on her bed laughing. However, she quickly stopped, because she realized that she had fallen ONTO someone. She sat up and turned around suspiciously. All she saw was an ear lobe. Invisibility cloak. Pansy wouldn't, so...it could be Draco, or Harry, or anyone, really. She stuck out and arm, and yanked. She managed to pull the cloak off. It was Draco.   
  
"Wh-What are you doing?" she asked incredulously.  
  
"Umm...being naughty? Hoping you wouldn't discover me?"  
  
"You...god, if I hadn't..."  
  
He laughed.   
  
"Some interesting letters you have there. So Harry likes Cho, and Ginny likes Harry, and Neville likes you...who do you like?"  
  
"I should strangle you. If any of this gets out..."  
  
"I could really blackmail some people with this information. Maybe Cho likes Neville..."  
  
"You know that Cho loved Cedric. Now shut up."  
  
Draco obliged. He suddenly looked really serious.   
  
"So, have you been having...nightmares too? I guess I'm here because I'm afraid to fall asleep. When I sleep..." Draco stopped, shuddering.  
  
"I figured you were having them. I know Harry is, because he is in constant pain with that scar of his. I've been telling Dumbledore about them, but he just doesn't really know what to do. Except that I might have to stay here over Christmas, if he can't put enough spells on my house. You going to that ski resort?"  
  
"Yeah. I dunno why. My dad hates muggles. He also hates snow. He banishes it from our castle. But, this Christmas, he decided to pack up and take us skiing...I think maybe he's lost it..." Draco forced a laugh.   
  
"Do you realize that like most of Slytherin is going skiing? Does this have something to do with Voldemort?"  
  
"Would you stop with this whole 'Slythering is evil. It is all a conspiracy against me' shit? Maybe we all just wanted to go skiing..."  
  
"Ok, Ok. Sorry...I just, well, I have a lot of reasons to be suspicious, ok? Not at you, just at everyone in general. Hell, I should probably be suspicious of Neville liking me. It's probably all part of some big trap..."  
  
"Neville? He wouldn't know what a trap was if you spelled it out. He's a Gryffindor. He is supposed to be stupidly brave, that's all. Note the first three letters of Slytherin. Sly. Now WE know how to set traps..."  
  
"Yeah, I know...unfortunately..."  
  
"Oh, shut up!" Draco was really sick of this whole pity me thing she had going. It was 15 days till Christmas, there was an intricate trap laid out, and he kissed her.  
  
Lily was taken by surprise, but it was pleasant surprise, because he really did know how to kiss. He was strong, in fact he had gone from slightly on the scrawny side to amazingly buff in the past few months. So had a lot of other guys, but right now it was wonderfully obvious.   
  
Draco got a pleasant surprise when she hadn't pulled away, and had in fact, kissed right back. The kiss was light, and short, but still left them in each others arms gasping for air. They smiled at each other, and then he left her hanging. He threw on his invisibility cloak and left. That was hard for him to do. He had wanted badly to stay there and hold her all night, to not have to go back to his room and suffer through more agonizing nightmares, nightmares in which he had to kill her, had to kill Harry, had to kill his mother. But he had to follow The Plan, and The Plan included only one agonizingly sweet kiss. He had to wrap her around his little finger. And he only had until December 22nd to do so.   
  
Lily watched him put on his cloak, wanting to beg him to stay, but her pride got in the way, making her choke. She was slightly confused, but her overwhelming happiness cast away any thoughts of evil, of Pettigrew, of Neville, of skiing, and of darkness in general. She actually felt like wearing something pink.   
  
  
Voila! Chapter Six!!!   
Hmmm...what is this Plan? Why are they so afraid of Pettigrew, but not entirely worried about Voldemort? What's up with the ski resort? Is Draco finally being naughty? Will Snape meet a witch who will get him to stop being so sour and bitter? Is Snape going to the ski resort? What will Ginny do? Will Harry finally come to his senses and forget about Cho (probably not) And, most of all, What do our lovely Death Eaters have in store for Lily???   
Please read and review!!! I LOVE looooong reviews! *hint hint* I also appreciate constructive criticism! I'm not going to post Chapter Seven until I get at least 20 reviews, because I'm working awfully hard on this story and I figure you can all take 15 seconds and review...also, if you have any suggestions as far as who should be paired up with whom, please, please tell me!!! Draco and Lily? Harry and Lily? Harry and Ginny? Ron and Pansy? Harry and Pansy? Ron and Cho? Neville and Hermione? Draco and Hermione? Hmmm...See, the possibilities are interesting and ENDLESS!!!  
*Lily*  
  



	7. Of Quidditch, Ballet and Seaweed

Hey!!! Wow! I got my 20 reviews! And here is the 7th chapter, as promised! I experimented with a few different writing techniques in this chapter, and I'm really happy with it. And, finally, I think I at least sort of know where I'm going with the coupling. Although, not all of them are evident from this chapter...Thanks are at the end!  
Chapter Seven  
  
Harry rose grumpily out of bed. His hair was in usual disarray, his scar was in throbbing pain, and he had had yet another awful nightmare. He didn't really remember what it was about, however, which was most unusual, because usually he remembered his nightmares in minute detail. He had a strange thought nagging at the back of his mind: Draco and LILY.   
  
Harry's stomach curdled at the thought of Draco and Lily. Draco had her wrapped around his white little finger. Harry didn't trust Draco, at all. Sure, he had spasms of semi-goodness when it came to several of the Slytherins, but most of the time he was an evil, conniving MALFOY. He lazily wondered why he would even think that Lily would bend to the level of liking him, and then he slapped himself on the forehead and reminded himself that even Hermione had admitted that Draco, slimeball that he was, was most definitely good looking. As she said this to Ron and him, he had dared to look in Ron's direction. He had noticed his friends' fists clenched, as if to say, "Well, if I have anything to do with this, he won't look lovely much longer!" Harry had a sneaking suspicion that Ron liked Hermione, or maybe just really despised Malfoy. Harry had to admit that every chance Ron got, he argued with Hermione, so maybe it was just friendly lookout. Harry sighed and looked over at his sleeping friend. His bed curtains were open, and he was asleep in yesterday's robes with a book on quidditch laying open next to him. At the last quidditch meeting Fred had informed everyone that he would need a replacement, because he was going to go study for three months under a wizard named Algoy Marsipion. Mr. Marsipion was well known in certain circles as an expert in the field of pranks. He was known to be rather eccentric, to put it lightly, but he was the best person an aspiring prankster could study under. And, as Fred and George were planning to use pranking as their profession in life, they needed to learn from the best. In three months, Fred would come back, and George would leave. Harry had a sneaking suspicion that this was where his thousand galleons were going. Since one of them would always be gone, they needed a replacement, and Ron was hoping with his heart and soul and crummy broomstick to take their place.  
  
Harry was suddenly jolted back to the unpleasant thought of Lily and Malfoy. He thought that she was too smart to fall for him, but he supposed that if Malfoy, for some reason, decided to put his undivided attention on her, she would. Harry decided to watch Malfoy a little more closely. Lily was a friend. Sure, he was occasionally entranced by her charm and beauty, but she WAS just a friend, and friends watch out for friends. Malfoy was, in Harry's mind, a direct translation of "Danger. Beware."   
  
Neville stirred in his bed, then shot almost straight into the air as a loud alarm clock went off next to his head. He fell out of bed. Ron, Dean, and Seamus also had similar responses to the alarm clock. Harry was almost completely ready for breakfast by this time, and decided to make sure that no one was seriously injured and then go find Hermione, who would surely be up by now.   
  
Harry went down to the common room, but found no Hermione, who was normally there waiting for him or Ron, avidly reading some massive book. He briefly thought about checking in the girls' dorm, but knew that it was strictly against Hogwart rules, and figured that Hermione was probably in the Library. Maybe he was up earlier than usual.   
  
Harry strolled down the hallway at a leisurely pace. He was about to round the corner leading to one of several staircases that led down to the breakfast hall, when he heard a familiar voice, talking in hushed tones, to someone he didn't recognize.   
  
"...you do realize that if you don't start to do better, she may get away..."  
  
Then he heard the typical, if hushed, drawl of Draco Malfoy. "Yeah, yeah. I'm telling you, she won't. But I hate this whole job. She's a f***ing mudblood!"  
  
"I know. Filthy creature. But you saw the way she looked at you. Soon, you'll have her over Potter and his little red headed sidekick. I need to go, can't be seen in this place. Ciao."  
  
Harry heard a *pop!* and just managed to duck into the shadows as Draco strolled by. What the hell was going on? Hermione? Draco? No. But what other "mudblood" hung out with Ron and him? And how dare they call Ron his sidekick! Ron was underestimated, completely. Should he go find Ron? No. Not if there was the possibility that Ron liked Hermione. He would have a fit. Maybe he should find Hermione? Yes. He should find Hermione, before it was too late.   
  
Finally making his way down to the Library, Harry headed straight to Hermione's corner. He looked up to find only one person sitting there. But it wasn't Hermione. It was Draco. He was looking impatiently at his designer watch, and tapping his fingers on the table.   
  
So. This was the way it was to be. But Hermione? Harry shook his head, and headed over to an opposite corner. Maybe Malfoy was gonna put her under some sort of curse. But what would he want with her?   
  
He saw Hermione walk at her usual fast pace into the library, and make a beeline for her corner. However, she quickly made a beeline in the opposite direction. He waved. She saw him and looked relieved.   
  
"Hey Harry! Whatcha doing up so early? You were up even before me! What's wrong?" Hermione looked genuinely worried, heavy book tucked under her left arm. She knew perfectly well that it was a miracle for Harry to be up before breakfast began. Ron usually had to wake him up at the last moment.   
  
"Hey 'Mione. I guess I'm just a little confused, that's all. I woke up early because of a nightmare, and then I overheard a little conversation. What's going on between you and Malfoy? And when were you going to tell us?" Harry looked vulnerable and hurt, and Hermione couldn't help laughing.   
  
"Harry, you look so serious! That was a good one. I swear, you and Ron get better and better at you poker faces daily! No, really, what's wrong?"  
  
"Hermione, I AM serious! I don't know what you're playing at, but the other day you said that you thought he was hot, and then he was waiting for you today..." Now Harry looked exasperated and run down at the same time. Hermione was beginning to worry.  
  
"Harry? Do you have a fever? Did you have some really weird dream? I know Malfoy was sitting where I usually sit, but he wasn't waiting for me! He's over there talking INTIMATELY with Lily! Now what's wrong?"  
  
Harry had shot straight up out of his bean bag chair with a look of shock and despair spread across his face. Then, in rushed and whispered tones he said, "'Mione, I think we need to go somewhere else to talk. Now. I think...I'm on the brink of...I think that, well, we have a mess to figure out..."   
  
"Breakfast hall?"  
  
"Skip that. Common room?"  
  
"Ok. But I really can't be late for Potions. You know we have it first, and double, and Snape will kill us if we're late."  
  
"Ok"  
  
The two entered the now deserted common room. Harry pulled up a chair opposite him and motioned for her to sit.   
  
"First off, I need to know where you stand with Malfoy."  
  
"Where I stand? Where I always have. You and Ron are my best friends, and Malfoy's the little git (although he's not so little anymore) that likes to get in the way and bother us. He is an annoying prat. Does that explain things, Harry?"  
  
"Er, yeah. So...you don't have anything...er...going on with him then?"  
  
"For the hundredth and last time, no! Why?"  
  
Harry told Hermione about the conversation.  
  
"Well, that certainly sounds like they were talking about me...but the only thing Malfoy's done to me all week is call me a filthy mudblood and screw up several of my potions...which does not usually make a girl fall in love with you!"  
  
"No...it doesn't. Which leaves us with a much more...likely situation. I had completely forgotten about Lily! In that one big book that told all about her family, you know the one, it simply said that her family had been banned from using magic. Which means that she IS a witch, which makes her a mudblood, and...explains my dream..."  
  
"What was your dream about?"  
  
"It was all about Draco and Lily. Draco definitely had the upper hand. I woke up feeling sick..."  
  
"And Draco was talking with Lily this morning. So, obviously something's going on, and we need to find out what, and soon. First off, we need to be certain that there actually is a problem. And maybe the person we should talk to isn't just Dumbledore. I think we should bring this up to Snape, too."  
  
"'Mione, have you gone insane??? Snape? I dunno...speaking of Snape, we ARE ten minutes late for his class..."'  
  
"Good! That means that he will give us both detention in the dungeons, with him. That would be the perfect time to talk with him. Dumbledore trusts him, and, well, Dumbledore is a wise man. I think that he would be able to find out a lot more to help her than we ever could. Plus, he already has taken a fancy to her. No, Harry, not in that way. He's constantly protecting her against the likes of Lucius. C'mon. We don't want too much detention!"  
  
Harry followed Hermione flabbergasted out of the common room.   
  
  
  
Draco lazily twirled his quill around on his desk. He was in double Potions, and Snape was droning on and on about the powers of seaweed. At first Draco had been interested, because he had thought that maybe it was the stuff that muggles used to get high, but then he realized that it wasn't, and went back to twirling his quill with intense concentration.   
  
Potter and the Mudblood came walking in casually, reminding him of himself. They didn't look at all worried. Peculiar. Draco slowly stopped twirling his quill. This should be interesting.   
  
"Mr. Potter, Ms. Granger. Glad that you could fit Potions into your already tight snogging schedule. You are exactly twelve minutes late, and have missed eleven minutes worth of information. So you will each have 132 minutes of detention. Tonight. In the 2nd dungeon. Be there at 8 o'clock sharp. Sit down, and quit grinning like you've just gotten your picture taken for the paper again, Potter. Thirty points from Gryffindor."   
  
Draco couldn't believe it. Even hearing Snape chew out the Gryffindors was boring. Something was definitely wrong. Why had Potter and the Mudblood been so damn complacent? Draco sighed, then noticed Lily staring at him. He grinned at her. She blushed and looked away. That morning he had proposed that she come with him over Christmas break. She had said that she wasn't sure, she had wanted to go see her mum. He thought that maybe he had almost convinced her to come. He knew that she wanted to.   
  
He absently ran a hand through his hair, as partners were being assigned for a seaweed potion. He was with the Mudblood. Pansy was with Weasley, and Lily was with Potter. Draco felt like growling. He shot daggers at Potter, who in turn pretended not to notice. What had gotten into Snape?  
  
Hermione came walking over, looking just about as excited as he felt.   
  
"So, Granger. You were paying attention, right?"  
  
Hermione glared. "Malfoy - how about I call you Draco. I'm sick of this last name thing - do you think I was paying attention? I just got detention. I came in late. I haven't a clue what we're supposed to be doing. You, however, should. Unless that quill proved to be much to interesting."  
  
Draco's mouth fell open. When had she become so...so un-Hermione-like? Did Potter and her have a thing going?   
  
"So, Granger, you and Potter have a thing going on?"  
  
"My name is Hermione. H-E-R-M-I-O-N-E. Got it? And no, Harry and I do NOT have 'a thing' going on. Now, unless you want detention, too, we should probably figure out what we're supposed to be doing."  
  
"Go ahead. I really couldn't care less." Draco leaned lazily against a desk, and stared into space. Hermione looked at him for a moment, snorted, and went to ask Ron what they were supposed to do.   
  
Ron and Pansy were staying as far away from each other as possible. They both looked like they had storm clouds floating above their heads, and were busy chopping seaweed into very fine pieces.   
  
"Hey Ron! D'you think you could explain to me what we're supposed to be doing? Draco doesn't know a damned thing, and, well, neither do I..."  
  
Ron looked up, relieved. "What happened? Why did you just accept detention like that? Oh, shit, here comes Snape. Here, take Pansy's list." He picked up Pansy's list and handed it to her. Hermione smiled and left. Pansy glared at him and kicked him in the shin.   
  
Hermione went floating back over to their desk right before Snape was able to give her more detention. Draco looked disappointed. Hermione handed him five long pieces of seaweed and instructed him to chop. She did the same, while starting a conversation.   
  
"So...what are you doing over Christmas?"  
  
What was up with the Mudblood? Why would she care? Attempting to maintain his look of both disgust and indifference, he said, "What do you care? Oh, wait, I forgot. I'm going to go murder a bunch of mudbloods with my father. And you?" He watched her carefully. She looked both shocked and like she could laugh.   
  
"Nothing. Oh, wait, I forgot. I'm going to go kiss Harry under the mistletoe." They both noticed Harry look up in shock, and surprised themselves with both laughing hysterically. Then they noticed what they were doing and returned to furiously chopping seaweed.   
  
  
  
Ron couldn't believe it. Harry and Hermione had joint detention that night, which meant an evening spent most likely with Ginny and her friends and non-stop Harry Potter worshipping. To top all that off, he had to work with Pansy Parkinson for two hours in Potions. She had already kicked him in the shin, leaving a huge bruise. And now Hermione was over with Malfoy laughing hysterically. His life was falling to pieces.   
  
"Ron? Um...you're chopping your robe sleeve..." Ron looked up startled into the face of a very close and worried Pansy.   
  
"Wha-oh, yeah...woops..." He returned to chopping seaweed and ignoring Pansy. She kicked him again.   
  
"Are you alright? You've been sitting there chopping the same seaweed for at least ten minutes! I didn't think working with me was THAT bad..."  
  
"What? Oh, its not you...sorry..."  
  
"Oh, I've heard that one before...trust me, it doesn't work. 'Oh, it's not you. It's me...what I'm not saying is, I'm seeing someone else...'"  
  
Ron choked with laughter. This was Pansy Parkinson? Draco Malfoy fan? Slytherin slut? What was going on?  
  
"Sorry...I guess I've just been a little preoccupied. Plus, y'know, I didn't think that we would exactly have much to say to each other. It's not like we have anything in common."  
  
"Oh, but we do. You're Lily's friend, aren't you? So that's a start."  
  
So that's a start...Maybe he should be a little more open minded...  
  
"Yeah, I guess so...interested in Quidditch?"  
  
"No. But you should try out for that open place on the Gryffindor team. Since Potter plays and all. Ballet?"  
  
"Uh...nope. I assume that means you are, though."  
  
Pansy was just about to say something when Draco came sauntering over. Ron stood up a little straighter, making the fact that he was 3 inches taller than Draco more obvious. He noticed Pansy straighten up, too, and tuck a stray lock of blond hair behind her ear.  
  
"I need to talk to you for a sec." No bravado, no manners, and off he dragged her.  
  
Ron watched as Pansy floated along propelled by Draco's hand on the small of her back. So she still really was the same Draco-obsessed Slytherin slut she always had been. But wasn't something else there? He felt like something was different...  
  
  
  
  
Pansy gulped as Draco pushed her along. His hand felt really cold on her back. Only a few days ago, she would have died to have him touch her, and now she actually wanted him to let her go.   
  
"Hey Pansy. I hope I didn't, um, interrupt your chat with Weasley. I figured it wasn't that important. Or, at least, not as important as this. Y'know how I had asked you earlier in the year to help me with our father's little project if I needed it? Well, I do. I was hoping you would help me do something very sneaky and very crucial..."  
  
"Draco, I dunno. I know I said I would at the time, but...I just can't bear to hurt her..."  
  
"You won't have to hurt her. You just have to sort of mangle things up a bit...that's all..."  
  
"No. You don't seem to understand. I don't want to mangle things up a bit. I don't want to do anything! What happened to you loving her? I think that you, Draco Malfoy, are in love with the promise of power. And, further more, I think that you are a fool!"   
  
Draco had to strongly resist the urge to slap her. He needed her help. What had happened? Why wouldn't she help him? She seemed somehow different...she seemed stronger than before, and he badly wanted to squash her. She could destroy everything...  
  
"Ok, Pansy. How about we talk about this a little later on. I need your help, but I can live without it...how 'bout you meet me in the astronomy tower for lunch today?"  
  
"Fine." And she turned around, going back to where Ron Weasley was busy chopping more seaweed. Too much seaweed, in fact.   
  
  
  
Viola! Ta Da!!! Chapter seven! Guess what? I have FABULOUS news!!! Tomorrow's my last day of school, so the chapters will probably be coming a lot faster, except of course when I'm on vacation elsewhere!!! Now, onto the Thank you's...  
  
  
THANK YOU FOR REVIEWING MY STORY!!!!!!!!!!! (pat yourself on the back and have some banana cream pie)  
  
Sara- thanks for reviewing! I'm sorry I didn't get this part up sooner, but the next part will probably come faster!   
  
Alya Pascal- Thanks for your suggestion on Harry and Pansy! As you can see, it looks more like Ron and Pansy, but I still want to know what everyone thinks, so please tell me what you think of that pair! Thanks!  
  
Zedd- I'm glad you appreciate my Hottest Wizards choice! I don't think there will be any Snape romance in here, but I think I will have him play an important role...As you can see, things seem to be leaning towards Ron and Pansy...although, I change my mind so frequently, it may not stay that way! Please tell me what you think! Thanks!  
  
Fireline- yes, I think I have continued to get people to pity and take Pansy's side! Wow! Hahaha...Yes, Lily's desire to wear pink was sort of related, but more on a subconscious level for her, because she loves her dark colors...It was sort of saying that she was feeling like a dark veil had been momentarily lifted. It would have been what I would have used on just about anyone feeling that way, though. Thanks for reviewing!!!  
  
Glammer Gurl that hates PINK- first off...really really like your penname!!!! Hahaha...I'm VERY flattered by your praise, and glad that you reminded me not to make Lily too mary jane. I personally don't think she will be. She will, of course, make stupid mistakes...but, then again, she may not make enough of them because I am sort of partial to my own character, so I really appreciate the fact that you reminded me! Thanks!  
  
Draco's Girl- Sorry I didn't get this posted sooner! Also, it doesn't really look like it will be Ron and Hermione...sorry! But hopefully you will like Ron and Pansy! I sort of have a weird penchant for peculiar couples!!! Anyways, thanks for reviewing!!! You were my 20th review!!! Yay!   
  
So...keep on reviewing my story, you all know I love it!!! And I PROMISE I'll write more soon!!!   
  



	8. The Abuse of Ginny Weasley

Hello! I know that I had promised this chapter would be up soon (and that that was several months ago...) but as you may have noticed, I have been working on a new fic, called The Messenger and the Dragon...a Dr/Hr romance...anyways, I was struck by sudden inspiration to write another chapter in this fic...and I have a great new plan for it!!! This is a short chapter, and Draco is evil, sexy, and conniving...but, what's a girl to do?! Anyways, you may not be able to see where this is going from this chapter...but I guess I'll keep you on your toes! Also, for all of you out there who are in favor of Draco and Lily, don't fear, it will happen eventually, but only after Draco gets over certain darker aspects of his personality and realizes that it just isn't very cool to be manipulative...anyways, enjoy!!  
  
  
  
  
The Conquering of Hate  
  
  
  
  
  
Chapter Eight: The Abuse of Ginny Weasley  
  
  
  
  
  
*Draco's POV*  
  
  
  
Well, it had finally come to him. He had decided that it was too risky to try to persuade Lily to come with him to the ski resort. She would ask Dumbledore all about it, probably already had, and that would bungle the entire Plan. But there was a certain little red-headed Weasley girl who could be a very useful tool...since Pansy was suddenly being a complete bitch and refusing to do a thing to help him.   
  
He kept running into the girl, as it was. And she had suggested he go visit Madame Pompfrey...so all he had to do was get in front of her again, pretend to fall asleep in the hall again, trip, make her trip, or not, she could just help him up...then, surely, she would tell him to go to the hospital, he would solemnly nod his head and ask her if she would be kind enough to escort him there, since he was having trouble staying awake. Then, once there, he would figure out a way to make her stay, for a little while. Throw in something about her beautiful hair, or, well, anything, really. Wrap her around his little finger...yes, yes, she would be perfect...  
  
  
  
*Ginny's POV*  
  
  
  
Ginny glared at her sloppy morning porridge. Harry was actually over at the Ravenclaw table this morning, talking with, surprise, surprise, Cho. Ron was off in la-la land, which confused her, because he seemed to be in a la-la land focused primarily around the Slytherins...and Hermione had eaten her toast very quickly and was now running towards the Library at a manic speed.   
  
She couldn't believe that Harry and Hermione had actually had detention with Snape last night. And they had seemed happy about it, telling Ron all about something terribly secret that of course little Ginny Weasley would be left out of. Damn it, now Cho was literally batting her extra thick, dark, and long, lustrous eyelashes at Harry Potter. She could see it from here. How pathetic. Ugh.   
  
Ginny gave up on the porridge. She just wasn't hungry. She might as well go to Divination. While her brother hated the subject, she generally found it very enlightening. Mind you, she didn't believe half of what Professor Trelawny said, but the other 50 percent was always helpful and she was becoming really good at seeing the future. Ok, not really, but she was much more attuned to people. She could pick up on things much more quickly, and her tea leave reading had saved her on numerous occasions.   
  
Funny. Malfoy was in front of her, again. The poor boy (wait a second, what an oxymoron!) was having trouble staying awake again, it seemed. He just managed to push the great big wooden door out of the Entrance hall open and walk through it, before his shoulders sagged even more and he could no longer walk in a straight line. He hadn't gone to Madame Pompfrey, obviously. Ginny's brow furrowed in worry. Maybe she should try to wake him up...before he fell.   
  
Oh, well. Too late for that. She bent down next to him, and gently shook his shoulder. He didn't seem like the same cold, menacing Draco Malfoy she had heard of her whole life. He seemed much weaker, and seemed to be at a loss for harsh words.   
  
"Malfoy, Draco Malfoy...you need to wake up...c'mon...Draco..." She was bent down next to him and more insistently shaking his shoulder. He came to with a start, and seemed pleased to see her. Ginny felt herself blushing a little bit.   
  
  
*Draco's POV*  
  
  
Even easier than he had imagined. He had paid close attention to the little Weasley girl all through breakfast, and been able to note around what time she would decide to get up. She hadn't noticed because she was too busy staring at Potter, of course. And none of the Slytherins had noticed because he had said he was just really tired and didn't feel like talking and so Lily and Pansy had been talking, at the other end of the table, and everyone just sort of talked around him.   
  
He got up about twenty seconds before she did, mumbling something about going back to bed. It was perfect. And she was being so gentle, and so sweet, and innocent...brushing away her flaming hair and chewing on her lower lip in worry, trying to no avail to keep the blush from creeping into her cheeks as she helped a feigning Malfoy up off of the floor...  
  
  
*Ginny's POV*  
  
  
"Um, Draco, have you been sleeping much lately?" Ginny tried to hold a conversation as she helped him up. She was feeling a little embarrassed.   
  
"Wha-oh...no, not really...I've...I've been having horrible nightmares, Ginny..." He momentarily looked frightened, haunted, just as Harry sometimes did...  
  
He knew her name. He looked her in the eye. HE didn't think of her as Ron's little sister...  
  
"I think you really should go see Madame Pompfrey. Obviously you didn't listen to me last time. She can give you medicine to induce sleep, and then you won't be tired like this. Really, what will your teachers say if you fall asleep in the middle of class? Surely your grades are plummeting..."  
  
"I guess I should...I just though I could, you know, handle it...but, well..."  
  
"Why don't you go there now?"  
  
"I will. Could you help me? I'm terribly drowsy...I'm just so..."  
  
She felt so sorry for him. The circles under his eyes were darker than she had ever seen before. She didn't have a lot of time before class started, but, well...even if he WAS Draco Malfoy, surely Professor Trelawny would understand if she was a little late...she had been talking about karma only yesterday...yes, she would understand.   
  
"Of course I will." She smiled up at him, to reassure him that she was there.  
  
He placed his arm around her shoulder and whispered 'thanks'. She wasn't sure she could deal with him being this close to her. Her heart belonged to Harry, always...but Draco Malfoy was very pleasing to look at...and he was being so unbelievably sweet...  
  
  
*Draco's POV*  
  
  
God, the girl was so naive...she lapped up his every word. He could tell that she was already falling for him, even though, of course, her heart would probably always belong to Potter. That was ok. He didn't want her heart. He wanted her soul. To use, and discard. Oh, yes, he was an evil one...  
  
  
  
*Ginny's POV*  
  
  
  
He was leaning on her more and more. His eyes kept opening and closing, and his breathing kept slowing down. Every once in awhile she would have to stop and shake his shoulder because he was just to heavy for her to carry...his head kept landing on her shoulder, and occasionally she felt his breath blowing stray wisps of hair around on her neck...  
  
She hadn't ever really been this close to someone before. When Harry had rescued her from the Chamber she had been too drained to appreciate it...she had also been a lot younger, more immature...then she just liked Harry because he was Harry...now, it was so much more...but Cho seemed to have him. He seemed to actually have a pretty good grip on Cho.   
  
Ginny reminded herself to look where she was going, because she was back to practically carry Draco Malfoy. She wanted to get there before the other students started heading towards class...her brothers would have a fit if they saw her with Malfoy, even if he was being nice and even if he was completely helpless...  
  
They had come to the twisting staircase that led to the Hospital Wing. Why was it so difficult to reach? What if he hadn't had her help? He wouldn't have made it here. He would've been asleep in the corridor, is what he would've been.   
  
Good God, he was heavy. They were on the staircase, out of sight of anyone at the moment. Suddenly he had really, apparently for the first time, fallen asleep. If she didn't keep a hold of him and get him seated before even trying to wake him up, he would fall all the way down the long staircase. His arm was resting on one shoulder, and his hand was actually tangled in her hair. His head was lolled back and his mouth was wide open. He wasn't very attractive like that. He really must have had a lot of experience with girls to be comfortable falling asleep in a random girls' arms AND getting his hand tangled in her hair. Ginny suddenly felt very, very young. And also very, very used. Why couldn't he just wake up and get up the bloody staircase? Why did it have to be her, and why did she have to decide to be nice and get good karma? Would he at least close his mouth and look cute?  
  
With some effort she got him into a sitting position and began shaking his shoulder, really hard. She was shaking his whole body. He woke with a start.  
  
"Oh, God, damn sorry about that, Ginny...Listen, you're gonna be late for class, aren't you? I think I can make it by myself...thank you..." He kissed her on the cheek.  
  
"Are you...are you sure?"  
  
"Well, the worst that can happen is that I'll fall down the staircase and make a fool out of myself..." He grinned sweetly, sleepily, at her.   
  
"It would hurt for you to fall down that staircase. The steps are stone. I'm sure Madame Pompfrey will give me a pass to class. I can help you..."  
  
"Thanks, Ginny..."  
  
  
  
*Draco's POV*  
  
  
  
Wasn't she gullible? It was sort of sweet...he knew he had an affect on women, but he thought to himself, this time it was perfectly executed. And perfectly received. At one point he lolled his head onto her shoulder and gently touched her neck with his lips. He felt her body tense, and she even paused in the hallway. He let his breath tickle her neck, and then topped it all off by kissing her on the cheek at the perfect moment. Hell, Ginny Weasley wanted him. Bad.   
  
  
*Ginny's POV*  
  
  
Draco Malfoy had just kissed her. Draco Malfoy had just kissed her! Never mind that it was just on the cheek. His icy lips had touched her burning cheeks. She found herself completely absorbed in thoughts of him kissing her. It would feel wonderful...oh, he was saying something...  
  
"What class do you have?"  
  
"Divination with Trelawny."  
  
"Oh, I'm sure that she won't mind if you're late. You just have to talk about good karma a lot. I'm a master at getting out of her class..." He gave her a little wink. He still looked really sleepy, but like he was making an effort to stay awake, for her.   
  
"That's what I was planning on doing. She was talking to us about karma yesterday, actually. Oh, look, here's the Hospital Wing..."  
  
Draco withdrew his arm from around her neck, and followed her in.  
  
"Madame Pompfrey? Poppy? It's Ginny..."  
  
"Hello, dear...oh, hello, Draco..."  
  
"Um, Madame Pompfrey, I brought Draco here because he needs a sleeping concoction...he's been having a lot of really bad nightmares, and I happened to come upon him falling asleep in the hall, and, well..."  
  
"Oh, dear. What are the nightmares about, Draco?"  
  
"Well...they...vary. But I think I will talk to Dumbledore about them maybe later on today or tomorrow..."  
  
"Or the day after that, dear, because I'm going to make you stay here for at least 40 hours of sleep. You need it. I'll be right back with the medicine, dear."  
  
"40 hours? Shit, Ginny! That's an awful lot of sleep..."  
  
"Draco, you really do need it...you couldn't even stay awake on your way up here!"  
  
"Yeah. Thanks again..." he kissed her again on the cheek, this time for a little bit longer. "I couldn't help noticing, that, well, you like Potter. Try to forget about him and that Chang girl, if anything goes on. If you ever need anyone to talk to, I'm open to it...and don't let Potter make you think you aren't pretty or anything. Because, Ginny Weasley, you're definitely one of the most beautiful and exotic looking girls in this school. And damn nice, to boot." He gave her a kiss on the other cheek, then went over to his hospital bed.   
  
'Draco Malfoy thinks I'm beautiful!' Ginny was beyond ecstatic. She couldn't refrain from a big grin and very rosy cheeks.   
  
"Dear, are you alright? And what happened to Draco?"  
  
"Oh, I'm fine, Poppy! He's over in one of the beds..."  
  
"You look awfully flushed, Ginny. Let me take your temperature..."  
  
"I'm really fine, Madame Pompfrey! Honest!"  
  
"Have you eaten anything today?"  
  
"Um...well...not really..."  
  
"That stomach of yours is caving in so much that before long you're going to have a hole through your middle, and let me tell you, boys don't find THAT very attractive!"  
  
Madame Pompfrey bustled around, and found a large bar of chocolate. "Here, have this. It's Honeyduke's Finest. Now, if you still are this flushed and feverish looking in a few minutes, I WILL take your temperature, and you may also have to stay here for a few days, dear..." She waddled off to give Draco his sleeping potion, which was scheduled to make him sleep for ten hours straight.   
  
By this point Ginny was blushing out of sheer embarrassment. Poppy would've had to lecture her in front of Draco...Ginny twisted her fingers nervously at the thought of him. She had heard so many bad things about him...about all the girls he had used, about how he didn't love anyone but himself, about his father, about how he treated her family, especially Ron. And yet, he was so nice to her...  
  
  



End file.
